Up next in 10
Happy New Year! As we kick this year off, we are changing some things up a bit. We are constantly striving to analyze and adjust what we do here at Daps Magic. One of the things we are adjusting is Daps Magic (the Podcast). In an effort to make things simpler and provide clarity of purpose, we are going to simply call it Disney and positive stuff moving forward. In this episode of Disney and positive stuff, Mr. Daps goes into the reasoning behind this, the core values that help make decisions like this, and his vision for what Daps Magic is and will become. We hope you enjoy this podcast and will also join in the conversation!
As Mr. Daps mentions in this episode, there are several ways to connect with our community. You can do this by leaving comments on articles on DapsMagic.com. You can also do this by connecting with us on Facebook (https://facebook.com/dapsmagic) , Instagram (https://instagram.com/dapsmagic) , or Daps Magic HQ (https://patreon.com/dapsmagic) ! Wherever you join our community, we hope that you find it to be positive and uplifting as we go into the year. We hope that this can be a place to get away from the weight of the world and instead enjoy geeking out about Disney and positive stuff! This is going to be a fantastic year, and we look forward to sharing it with you! Happy New Year!
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0:00
[Music]
0:20
Welcome to Disney and Positive Stuff, formerly known as Daps Magic, the podcast. I'm Mr. Daps. Happy New Year.
0:28
We're going to change things up a little bit this year. As we head into the new year, I always spend the end of the
0:34
previous year thinking about who we are, what we're doing, what we are going to do in the future, and how we can
0:40
accomplish those goals while also really staying true to what DAP's Magic has
0:45
been since we were founded in 2004. And one of the things I really became
0:50
compelled about was thinking that this podcast in particular should be a
0:55
platform that showcases what Daps Magic is about and highlights the stories that
1:01
really are central to what Daps Magic is about. And at the end of the day, that's all about Disney and positive stuff.
1:08
This means tons of Disney stories, but there's also a few other things that pop in here and there that uh maybe interest
1:15
us, maybe are a very positive story that makes the world a better place. Maybe it's something geeky that we just didn't
1:21
have time to go into in depth on Geek's Corner. But whatever those things are,
1:27
this is the place where we can really go a little bit deeper, have more um
1:32
in-depth conversations and very much unscripted conversations and unscripted
1:38
podcasts. So, you're not going to hear from me the same entry unless I get used
1:44
to it. Um, but you won't get that same entry speech that you've been getting previously on Daps Magic podcast.
1:49
Instead, you will be getting whatever is in my mind, whatever comes out of my heart at any given moment. And we will
1:55
see how this goes. So, the way this is going to work, the only way this is going to work really is with your
2:01
feedback and with the help that you can give me as we dive into this new era of
2:08
the DAPS Magic podcast. This will still be the official podcast of Daps Magic.
2:13
it just will be focused a little bit tighter and we will always be coming back to that Disney and positive stuff
2:21
uh focal point that really has been so much fun for me and the team through the
2:26
years and hopefully also for you. So, how can you help us? Let me know what
2:31
you think of this new format. The format might actually change from episode to episode depending on who's joining me in
2:38
the podcast and I hope that will be something that's fun for you as well. So, just let me know. Also, let me know
2:44
what specific topics you would like us to cover. If you want to hear more in-depth conversation on a specific
2:51
thing, let me know in the comments because I am always happy to accommodate
2:56
things like that. Also, make sure to subscribe to this, share this with your friends that you think might enjoy these
3:02
kind of conversations about Disney and positive stuff so that we can all do this together. It's a whole lot more fun
3:08
when we're doing these things together. I think so, at least. Um, also if you see me in the parks, say hi. I love
3:14
meeting with people, hearing their stories, connecting with them, finding out what they're up to, maybe what your
3:20
favorite uh new food of the parks are right now. I know we have a bunch of new things coming out in a few days, but I
3:27
love to to connect with other uh Disney fans and uh maybe even maybe even people
3:32
who aren't Disney fans yet and just happen to be in the parks. Anyway, I love to meet up and say hi if you see
3:38
me. I can't tell you how many times I have people on Instagram reach out to me in in private message and say, "Hey, I
3:45
saw you in the parks. I didn't want to bother you. Um, but uh I wanted to say hi." Always say hi. Um, if worst case
3:52
scenario, if I'm filming something, just wait a couple minutes. I'll be done. I promise. And then I'd love to uh meet
3:57
you and chat with you about anything. Like we we have fun geeking out about a lot of stuff. So, as we are moving
4:04
forward, if you want to connect with DAPS Magic, there's some really great places you can do this, and these are
4:09
going to be our focal points. First off, obviously, all of the news, all of the the shows, you name it, will be found on
4:17
dapsmagic.com. We connect through there for everything from there. You can find
4:23
us also on dapshq, which is our Patreon. That is where you get behindthescenes
4:29
stuff. That's where you get the special afterge geeks corner show that uh really just whatever happens happens and and
4:36
goes off the rails often. But it's a place where you can get a little bit more regular in-person and virtually uh
4:45
conversation with the DAPS magic team whoever it happens to be on and we have a lot of fun. You also can find us on
4:51
Facebook and then you can also find us on Instagram. Yes, we are also on X. Yes, we are also on uh Blue Sky, but our
4:59
focal points moving into 2026 are going to be DAPS HQ, Facebook, Instagram, and
5:06
of course, as always, dapsmagic.com. So, that's all the the official
5:13
announcements, I guess you could say, um about where we're going this year, where you
5:19
can connect with us this year, and uh not really what we're going to do this year, cuz we do have some surprises in
5:25
store. Um, things we do know coming up this year. Shockwalk. Don't want to miss it. You want to be a part of our team.
5:32
This is one of my favorite things that we do every year. And this gives you a
5:37
chance to interact with us and interact with some really great Disney fans or
5:42
maybe they're Chalkwalk supporters or Chalk supporters I should say, which is the Children's Hospital of Orange County, um, who's recently partnered
5:50
with Ray uh, Children's Health I believe it's called. But this is a phenomenal
5:56
opportunity for you to walk with me through the parks as we raise awareness
6:02
and funds for this children's hospital that actually was help founded by Walt
6:07
Disney himself decades ago. And really, what better thing could you do with your
6:14
day, usually it's a Sunday morning, than walk through the parks to raise money and awareness for children's health so
6:22
you can help kids who have some terrifying needs sometimes be able to
6:27
get the care that they need to get the uh not just the medical care, but the
6:32
emotional and the well-being um resources to really help them and their
6:38
families uh navigate some really scary things that kids just shouldn't have to
6:43
deal with, but that's life and and they do have to deal with it. And so we get to support them. We get to be a positive
6:50
impact in their lives. And and as a side benefit of that, we also get to meet a
6:55
lot of these um chalk kids that have gone through chalk and they have had their lives dramatically changed for the
7:01
better. And uh there's there's very few things I think that we do throughout the year that are more moving than waking up
7:08
ridiculously early on that Sunday and walking through the parks. And anybody who's been on our team would validate
7:15
this and we just we have a blast doing that. We'll also be covering all of the Disney and Positive Stuff stories this
7:21
coming year. You know, we have the the uh new Bluey thing coming. Then March,
7:27
we also have the continuation of the Disneyland Resort 70th celebration. So we've got Paint the Night coming back.
7:34
We've got the update to Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run coming this year. Uh when that will come out with the
7:40
Mandalorian and Grou movie, which will be fantastic. And you've got new Toy Story movie coming out and a whole lot
7:46
more that you just won't want to miss. And we will geek out about these things together every week on geekscorner,
7:53
every day on dapsmagic.com. and then also more in depth here on Disney and Positive Stuff, the Dabs
8:00
Magic podcast. We'll see how that plays out a little bit more as we look to this
8:05
year. There's going to be a lot of fun events. Disneyland After Dark, media events, Chalkwalk, other things that I
8:12
haven't even mentioned yet. But I do think it's very important to go back to
8:17
where we started and really focus on the things that have made DAPS
8:24
magic so much fun and fulfilling for us through the last almost 22 years. And uh
8:31
one of the things you may not realize is Daps Magic has an about page. We don't highly publicize it. We don't, you know,
8:37
blast it out in places all over the all the time, but what we do have is a link
8:42
to it. I think on the homepage and we do occasionally go back and reference this
8:48
and we also use this to make sure that we are in line with our core values as
8:54
we're moving forward and we're covering the stories that line up with what DAP's Magic is and where it's going and and
9:01
really that foundation of what it's been built on. So, I thought it would be very
9:06
important as we go into the new year before we get into all of the exciting things that are happening in the new
9:11
year. That's going to be the next podcast. I'm going to look at all of the things that are coming that we know
9:17
about in 2026 for the Walt Disney Company. And it'll be a very broad
9:23
discussion and look at what's happening. But I also think it's going to be a big
9:28
deal. 2026 is going to be a big year for Disney. And uh we're going to have fun covering that and talking about it
9:34
together. But before we get to any of that, I want to go back to the DAP's magic core values. These have been
9:40
tweaked a little bit through the years. Maybe the language has been um slightly modified, but the basis of what it is
9:48
has not changed in the 2021 2022 years uh that we have been doing this. And we
9:55
never imagined that when we started this in 2004,
10:00
which really was just a Yahoo group, that it would become the thing that it is today, which really has been just a
10:09
wild ride. And uh pinch me. I'm a little kid from Minnesota who never even knew
10:14
how to use the internet as a kid because it was just becoming a thing. All right, let's get into the core
10:20
values. First one is fun. One of my uh longtime mentors always
10:26
says uh if you're not having fun, you're done. And really, that's what we
10:32
that's the approach we take for everything at DPS Magic. If we aren't having fun with it, then we probably
10:39
shouldn't be doing it. We recognize that not all the stories that we tell are the most fun in the world. That's not what
10:45
I'm talking about. I'm talking about at its core when we do a DAPS magic event,
10:50
when we cover a story, when we go to um a meetup, whatever it is, even hopping
10:57
on on DAPS HQ, anything that we do at its core,
11:03
we especially me, we should be having fun with because at the end of the day,
11:08
I personally believe life's too short to not make it fun. And yes, life is going
11:14
to get in the way. things happen. We've had issues in my family this last year with health. We've had obviously there's
11:20
always financial things that come and go. There's all the unexpected surprises
11:26
that happen in life that can detract from the fun that we're having. But
11:32
don't you think there should be a few things in life that we can really focus on that can be a lot of fun and can
11:39
counter all of the weight of the world? And I think that's really what Disney was thinking, Walt Disney was thinking
11:46
decades and year almost well hundred years ago when he uh founded the company. But I really think that was a
11:52
big part of this is he wanted his family fun park to be something that really
11:58
would be an escape from the weight of the world as you walked through those
12:04
gates every day. That's one of the things I love when I get to go to Disneyland is generally I have a
12:10
somewhat standing. It's not a hard and fast rule, but I would rather talk about things related to Disney that are fun,
12:17
that are positive, that are exciting. Maybe they're even terrifying. You know, as change happens in the parks and
12:24
beyond, it can be terrifying. But I want to focus on those kind of things when I'm at Disneyland. And I don't want to
12:31
focus on the, you know, breaks on my car going out or I need to do this chore
12:37
this week because, um, I'm up against a deadline or whatever. I really do try to get in that headsp space of this is that
12:44
Disney bubble where we have fun and we focus on that. And then when I come into
12:50
do my work on Dap's Magic, whether it's writing a story, recording a podcast, Geeks Corner, you name it, making videos
12:56
for Geeks Corner or something else or the songs. Um, I really also try to come into it with that mindset of, hey, you
13:03
know what? We're going to throw everything else out right now for a couple hours or whatever it is that we're doing and we are going to focus on
13:10
the fun. Another thing I've read and heard mentors say through the years is what you focus on will grow. And I think
13:19
focusing on fun is a very important thing because it is so easy to get
13:24
disillusioned. It's so easy to nitpick to the point where you've picked everything away and it's not fun
13:30
anymore. And it's very easy to find the faults and everything. It's also not
13:38
fun. It also ends up being one of those things that just drags you down. And as
13:43
you focus more and more on that, it becomes a thing that's just not, you know, it's not happy, it's not healthy,
13:49
and it it doesn't make the world a better place. We firmly believe that having fun helps make the world a better
13:56
place, especially focusing on it and then sharing it because you know what fun is fun if you're not sharing it with
14:02
people. And that's really what we're all about. All right, that is the first core value. That went longer than I expected.
14:07
Sorry. Next one. Positivity. We believe that everything we should do
14:14
should be approached from the perspective of positivity. Uh Katie always says assume positive intent. like
14:22
that's something she tells me all of the time. So, as we're coming in and we're covering stories, we are always trying
14:29
to be positive, but we're also trying to be fair. Uh there's there's nothing
14:35
wrong with critical thinking. There's nothing wrong with critical coverage,
14:40
but when it becomes not because that that can be positive like we could go into that. That'd be probably a much
14:46
deeper conversation. But where it doesn't become positive anymore is when
14:51
it turns to put downs or turns into attacks or it becomes personal. Um and
14:57
or it becomes really just an unkind thing. When it comes to that, if it's not nice, it shouldn't be published. It
15:03
kind of goes back to what your your parents or your grandparents used to say when you're kids. If if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at
15:09
all. and and there is a fine line that's walked especially since we're covering
15:14
stories of positivity and also critical thinking
15:20
because I think it it's fair like not everything is going to be for everyone. Not every movie, not every game, not
15:27
every short whatever it is or even attraction is going to be a home run. Some of them
15:33
end up being misses and that's okay. That is how we learn. The worst thing in the world is to not fail. Um, I think
15:42
one of my favorite Walt Disney quotes is when he talks about the importance of having a good hard failure when you're
15:48
young in life because you do learn from that. And that's really the important part is it's okay to fail. It's not okay
15:56
to fail and not learn from that. And you never really know what better thing a
16:03
failure is going to bring. And that is part of the the story that we cover and
16:08
the story that we tell when we're covering Disney and positive stuff is we're looking for what's the bigger
16:15
picture here. That's something that I asked our team and and I bring it up with Katie quite a lot is like what is
16:21
the bigger picture of what's happening right here? Maybe this specific thing
16:27
doesn't look so great. Let's back out a little bit and look at it from another perspective. Let's move over here and
16:33
look at it from another perspective and let's see if we cannot figure out what
16:39
the bigger picture is. And maybe the bigger picture is right now something went wrong. There was a stumble. There
16:46
was a uh a poor choice in leadership. Something like that.
16:51
But what's the bigger picture? How, you know, what's the good that's coming out of it? What's the potential good that's
16:58
coming out of it? Um, it's very easy to be all doom and gloom when things happen. It's a lot harder to to look for
17:05
the bright side when when the darkness is there. And and that's something that we try to focus on and we continue to
17:12
really like we get flack for it. That's fine. But it it's something that I really think is important as we're
17:19
moving forward. And and part of this also is recognizing that as we are covering stories,
17:26
you know, Disney's a prime example. as we're covering stories, we do not
17:31
have privy to the same information and the same variables that the people who
17:38
are making the decisions at Disney have. So, I think a very easy um uh example of
17:45
this is, you know, Monsters Inc. will be closing down sometime this year at Disney California Adventure to make way
17:51
for a new Avatar themed area and experience uh and attraction. And that's
17:58
a hard thing for some people and and I get that. That's that's one of I think
18:03
the cutest family attractions at Disney California Adventure. It's one you can
18:08
bring kids of any age. Although it did scare I think my nephew at one point when he was a toddler. But you know, he
18:14
got over it. He's fine. But I do think there there's a cost to this and there's a sadness to this and that's okay.
18:21
There's also a a potential there. like we don't know exactly what we're getting
18:27
when this new avatar experience and attraction and area opens up. And uh
18:34
this is where you know I go back to that assume positive intent. I am going to assume and this is a a standpoint I take
18:41
basically on everything with Disney and most companies to be honest is I assume
18:47
most people are in leadership roles and have worked their way up through the company because they want the company to
18:55
be better. I have an assumption that they do not have whatever role they have
19:01
to sabotage Disney. I just don't think that's how I don't think that works that way. Do they always have the best
19:08
decisions? Do they always have the best um motivations personally for who knows?
19:13
I don't know. I do think people tend to work for a company, dedicate their life
19:19
and time and energy and heart to a company because they want to make it better and they think they know the best
19:26
way to make it better. There's the debates open for if that's true or not, like how how effective they
19:33
are on that. That's okay. But with that in mind, we bring that
19:39
into our coverage of like, okay, well, I'm gonna assume that one, they know
19:44
things I don't know. Two, they're trying to make the company better. And with
19:50
those two things in mind, yes, I have this bummer. Monsters, Inc. is closing.
19:56
On the flip side, they're investing in the park. New things are great things.
20:02
uh a company that's not changing is going to die and I don't want that to happen for the Walt Disney Company,
20:07
specifically for Disneyland because that's my home park. And and so at the end of the day, I'm going to take a
20:15
positive mindset for this and even if I'm not a
20:20
huge Avatar fan, which I I have mixed feelings on, like I kind of like it, it's also very long. I love the land in
20:27
uh Walt Disney World. So I'm going to take all those things into mind and as we approach our
20:33
coverage we are going to approach it from a positive standpoint. We will offer the critical thinking. We will
20:39
offer critical coverage. We also will come at it from a perspective that we
20:45
don't think whoever is in charge of this decision, whoever is running things at Imagineering, whoever is the person
20:52
that's uh maybe marketing or communicating what this is. We think all of these people are in it because they
20:59
want to make Disney better tomorrow than it is today. And and I think for the
21:04
most part that is what you find as you get to know these people that work at the Walt Disney Company at different
21:09
levels. Whether they're, you know, a conductor on the train or a jungle cruise skipper or they're a manager or
21:16
they're an executive, I have come to found through find through the years that almost all of these people really
21:24
do want to make Disney better and generally love Disney as well. All right, that's positivity. Next one,
21:30
number three, kindness. We really strive to have a culture of
21:36
kindness that builds people up, whoever they are. I don't care where you're
21:42
from. I don't care what you believe. I don't care how old you are. Whatever. What I care
21:49
about is making people feel better when they walk away from me than when they
21:55
approached me. And I hope the same goes for DAP's Magic. That's something we strive for. We want to be a culture of
22:03
kindness. We That's why we talk about keep kind and I throw those things that that word or those uh I say those two
22:11
words at the end of a lot of my videos is because the world needs to be a kinder place. There are so many negative
22:20
things thrown at you and so many put downs thrown out all the time. You know, we hear them here too. And we want to
22:26
combat that with kindness because we do know that kindness can heal heal a lot.
22:33
And it's funny because after we decided, hey, we really are going to this is one
22:38
of the newer uh uh core values. And when we decided this was going to become one
22:43
of the core values instead of just being something that was implied, it starts popping up everywhere and you
22:50
realize, oh yeah, this is definitely a theme through so many Disney movies through the years. But more than just
22:57
being a theme and more just being a nice idea, it's something that people really crave and they need and sadly they just
23:05
don't get. It amazes me how many people are not treated kindly. And I hear
23:10
stories all the time. And just know that when you come here, we will fight quite
23:17
literally for kindness. Maybe not physically, but you know, that is something we will advocate. That is something that we look for, whether it's
23:24
in comments or conversation or or whatever. We want this to be a culture
23:30
of kindness. And if that's something that's not interesting to you because you would just rather put people down or
23:36
make snide remarks or whatever, that's that's fine. There's probably other websites for you and other communities
23:43
for you. This is one where we want people who want to see other people
23:48
succeed come together. This is one where we want to come together and we want to
23:53
look for the good in people. We want to build up the good in people and and we want to thank people. Like there's
24:00
that's just one of the kindest things you can do is say please and thank you. And uh and it's amazing how far those
24:06
things go and and make people smile. But we do really want when people think of
24:11
DAPS magic and they think of Mr. Daps and and they think of our community or an interaction they had with it. We want
24:18
them to feel like they were treated with kindness. Maybe make them smile. That
24:23
would be great. and and we want that to be a positive thing for them when they
24:28
think of DPS Magic. Whether they're other guests like us, whether they're people that work for the Walt Disney Company, um you know, even even people
24:35
that work in other organizations, when you think of DAPS magic, we want you to know that you are cared about and that
24:43
we hope you have a kind experience with us. Next thing, number what? Four now,
24:50
magic. This is kind of a weird one. It's a little bit nebulous, but we firmly
24:55
believe in promoting Disney magic and maintaining the integrity of the Disney
25:01
magic as Disney is um defining it at any given moment. So when DAP started 21
25:09
years ago, almost 22 in just a couple months, one of the things that was different at
25:14
the time was you did not get a peak behind the curtain of how projects came to be. you know, we call it imagineering
25:21
now gives you some pretty cool looks at how things come to be or or what things
25:30
are coming to be in the future. And and it really does give a peak behind the curtain of what Imaginary does, how they
25:37
do things, technologies, how the magic is made. Those kind of things just didn't happen 20 years ago. And and so
25:43
at the time, those were the things that we really tried to avoid on DAPS magic.
25:49
Now that those things are being shown, that's more fair game. And we try to do that within the well, we do do this
25:56
within the confines of what Disney uh finds or Disney says is acceptable.
26:02
So, we're not going to go around sneaking pictures backstage. We're going to take pictures that Disney says, "Hey,
26:08
yeah, these are okay. These are public. Any person walking around the parks or any person walking around the studios
26:15
could get." And we're gonna always work to be above reproach and protect the magic, whatever that is. You know,
26:22
character integrity is something I think is very important. And and I, you know,
26:27
when when we visit Anna and Elsa, we're visiting Anna and Elsa. When we see Mickey Mouse, we're seeing Mickey Mouse.
26:34
And and when we're we're going on, you know, Rise of the Resistance, we get
26:39
to go and experience this Star Wars uh story, and we get to be a part of that.
26:45
And we try to to really do this because you don't know who's around that may be
26:52
talking, that may be listening. Um, little ears, you know, I have nephews and nieces that
26:57
very much love Disney and very much love the Disney characters and um, love Disney princesses and you name it. And
27:04
and I want them to get as much as they can out of these stories and get to be
27:10
kids for as long as as they can. You know, I want them to experience that
27:16
magic and the the exuberance that comes from that as long as they can. And I
27:23
don't want to be ever the one that makes the decision that pops that bubble or
27:28
say something that pops that bubble. And so we really try to to maintain that as much as we can. And and we do that. We
27:35
follow Disney's leads lead on that really uh because they do reveal a whole lot more today than they did 20 years
27:40
ago. And that's okay. We love it. Um, personally, as a Disney geek and someone
27:46
who's naturally inquisitive, I love that they're showing more peaks behind the
27:52
curtain. I think that's the best way to do it or to say it. And and so that's something that's important to us. And uh
27:59
and that's something that we we will continue to do. Keep moving forward and uh and covering things. Fifth one,
28:06
respect. This one should I don't know. This one I almost feel like shouldn't be
28:12
a core value, but it needs to be just because of the world we live in. And we firmly believe that everybody should be
28:18
treated with respect. Um, everybody needs respect and dignity. That is something that I I don't think there's
28:25
any person on the planet that doesn't want that. And so this is something
28:32
that uh we've just decided, hey, you know what? We're going to put this out there. We are going to put it in our
28:39
core values that we we respect people and we expect our community to respect people and and that means that all of us
28:47
will treat people with dignity and we will respect their dignity. We'll also
28:52
respect their privacy. Um this applies to celebrities. You will not see us going around and snapping pictures and
29:00
videos of celebrities who are on a vacation at Disneyland unless Disney put
29:06
something out in which case I'm going to well we know that there's something
29:11
that's now been there's a deal been made basically or a uh a gift or something
29:17
where Disney has said, "Hey, we're going to take these pictures and share them." That's very different than walking up
29:23
randomly and snapping a picture and when they're not looking or whatever it is
29:29
and and then posting it. Like that's the difference I think between uh a media
29:34
organization and paparazzi. And we're not going to do the paparazzi thing. That's just not cool to anybody. It's
29:39
not treating them with dignity. It's not treating them with respect. And it really is detracting from their
29:45
experience at Disney. So we're actually detracting from the magic. So those kind of two, you know, intertwine a little
29:51
bit when you think about that. So we're not going to do that. We are going to treat people with respect and we are
29:56
going to continue to uh advocate for that and and that's just something to know as we move forward that you can
30:04
expect from us. Next thing, familyfriendly. Our coverage and our publications are always familyfriendly.
30:10
We want this to be a place where you are safe uh showing
30:16
the website to your kids or or whatever that is. We are recognizing since Disney has grown and they continue to add more
30:23
things. Not everything is the same level of family familyfriendly that it was 20
30:28
years ago. You know, we have Deadpool in the parks now. And for some people that's hard and other people it's not.
30:34
We try to basically live by the the idea that if you're seeing it in the parks,
30:41
if you're seeing it in a familyfriendly movie, so maybe it's a a a uh trailer or
30:47
something before a movie that's PG. If you could find those things there, that's kind of our bar right now. And
30:54
this is something that's a little bit fluid and it changes, you know, it kind of changes as we watch
31:00
things happen and and as the world progresses, but that's the goal. And we
31:06
really try to keep it as as kind and family like they all are intertwined. And so, um, hopefully we succeed at
31:12
that. I don't have kids, so I can't 100% say that we do, but I do talk to people
31:17
who do and and so we try to use them as gauges for if we're hitting or missing
31:22
on that. Next, we only have two more, guys. We're almost there. Quality.
31:29
We want our coverage to be quality coverage. So, that means it's current,
31:34
it's accurate, and we really strive for journalistic uh standards. Um, we really
31:40
want to reflect a high level of of excellence. Like when you go to our our
31:45
our content, whether it's a video, whether it's um a podcast, whether it's
31:51
an article, uh, who knows? We want it to be something that's like, okay, you guys got it. That makes sense. Does that mean
31:59
it's flashy? Does that mean it's the best um, produced, most eloquently
32:05
written, whatever it is? No, we're we're not that. We are uh despite the hat and bow
32:13
tie or trilian bow tie, we are very much um normal people and and we want our
32:21
quality coverage to be normal. We don't want to be elite. We don't want to be um
32:27
unapproachable. We don't want it to be hard to read. We really do like there are times where I will start into an
32:34
article and realize, hey, you know what? I'm going too far with this or I'm going too deep with this. And some of them
32:40
still make it up because sometimes I just geek out too much. But the goal
32:45
really is quality, accessible, simple, and accurate. Like we want it to be
32:53
something that you can count on. And and that's that's probably the best description of what quality means for us
32:59
is when you go to Dav's Magic, you know, you can trust it and you can know that
33:04
we are going to do our very best to stay right in the middle and share share with
33:09
you what is happening without, you know, pushing an agenda or something. Um, I
33:15
don't know. What I do know is we really try to keep the story the story, stay out of the way of the story as much as
33:22
possible and and really let you see what we see. And and that's really the
33:28
approach we take with our videos, we take it with our articles, we take it with with our our shows, whether they're
33:33
podcasts or web shows, whatever, is we want you to see what we see. And I think
33:40
that's a lot of fun. Hopefully you like this as well. This is particularly true in uh on YouTube, but
33:47
we think it gets us out of the way and lets the story always be the story. And
33:52
and that's really what we're aiming for with uh the quality thing. Last one,
33:58
integrity. We really and these all go together. Like as I look back over these every
34:03
time I'm like, "Wow, these really are all intertwined and and and really create a web that holds us together is
34:10
if you want to think of an analogy that way." But we try to maintain the highest level of integrity in every way that we
34:16
run the website. Um, we want to be above reproach, we want to be honest, we want to be ethical, and we want to really
34:24
create a safe space for people to come and geek out about Disney and positive
34:29
stuff. you know, whether you're coming just to get news, whether you're coming for the community, uh whether it's
34:34
because you like to watch our videos, um we want them to really
34:41
be presented in a way that that you feel good about what's being presented to
34:46
you. And and that really comes down to all of these things lining up together.
34:51
And you can't have them happening without integrity. And um and hopefully we succeed at that.
34:57
And I think we do. you know, if if we don't, we make adjustments. And we will
35:03
be the first to acknowledge that every person who runs every website, including ours, is human. So, there's good days
35:09
and there's bad days. But we need to have most of the days lining up with
35:16
these eight core values. And that is how we can continue to share Disney and
35:23
positive stuff, not just this year, but many years into the future. And uh and
35:28
one of the things that that I think could go in here probably too is is like a creativity thing. Um we are very much
35:35
into creat creativity whether that's coming up with a new segment for Geeks Corner or maybe writing a new song or um
35:42
covering things in a new and unique way or doing a a fun vlog covering something. Um we have no problem trying
35:49
new things. We love that innovation and coming up with new ideas because that keeps us from being stagnant as well.
35:56
But um that's not one of our core values. Um because I think that kind of goes with the fun component of it. Like
36:02
that's part of having fun as we're building up DAP's magic as we're getting to share it with everybody and as we're
36:09
getting to um push off into the future, which is it's crazy to think we're already to 2026. So we have now covered
36:19
the foundation of what DAPs Magic is about. This is what we're about. This is
36:24
where we're going. like these are the the uh guidelines I guess you could call them for where DAPs Magic is going in
36:31
the future. And as we do that, we want you to come with us. We would love a
36:39
community that's about these eight core values that just permeates through the
36:44
entire Disney community. And when you wear a DAPS mag bad mag bad mag bad mag bad mag bad mag bad mag bad mag bad mag bad mag bad magic button or have a
36:50
sticker on your your iPad or whatever um people feel better and a and you know
36:57
maybe it's a wave of happiness because they're like oh I know that group they're they're good people they have
37:03
good news they have fun shows uh they have good videos whatever it is um I
37:11
like how their their team makes me feel or their community makes me feel. We want to have people feel better and
37:19
happier and are treated kinder because DAP's magic exists. And we want to we
37:25
really want to make this something that reaches out and grows and and hopefully
37:32
changes the world in our little sphere of it for the better as we move into 26
37:38
and beyond. And and really that only happens with people who are actively willing or willing to actively step up
37:46
and participate. You know, the world is changed by those who show up for better or for worse. And we need people to show
37:54
up this year. We need people that want to engage in conversation whether it's on DAPS HQ or in Facebook or Instagram
38:02
or you name it or even leaving comments on on uh articles that you find interesting. But we need people to step
38:10
up. We need people to help build this this uh community even stronger. Um you
38:15
know there's an 8020 rule that you know 80% of the people just experience things
38:20
and they're very happy to just absorb them and whatever and and then there's 10% of people that detract and 10 people
38:28
10% of of people that really make a positive difference and push things forward. And we're looking for that 10%
38:35
who really want to help create this kind community of Disney and positive stuff
38:40
as we're moving into the new year and beyond and really expand this because we really we firmly believe that this is
38:48
too good to not share. I love our little community that we have with Geeks Corner
38:54
and Daps After Dark. We have so much fun together. I want to share it with everybody and and I hope they do too.
39:00
and and you could be a part of that and and we'd love to have you as part of our
39:05
community, moving forward, making things better, having a blast doing it as we
39:11
move into the new year, and talk about all of the exciting things that are going on in the realm of Disney and
39:18
positive stuff. So, that's what I've got for you for this first podcast of 2026. This was
39:25
pretty freeranging. like I had the eight core values in front of me so that um I didn't miss any of them. But there's no
39:31
script. There's there might be outlines in the future or questions written out if I'm doing an interview. But this is
39:37
going to be a very free flowing podcast. It's going to be very much who I am and
39:44
hopefully plays to my strengths. So you can let me know how well I'm doing. And hopefully we can have a lot of fun
39:50
geeking out about Disney and positive stuff a little bit more in depth here than in Geeks Corner, which really is the big delineation.
39:57
And as we move into the future, I hope that you will join the conversation.
40:02
Whether it's through the comments, whether it's through Facebook group, or if it's through the DAPS HQ, I hope you
40:07
will join us. I hope you will say hi to me when you're in the parks. I love saying hi to people. I love connecting
40:13
with people. I can't say it enough. Um, there's nothing I'm not going to say it's disappointing, but it is kind of a
40:18
bummer to get those messages saying, "Oh, I saw you in the parks, but I didn't say hi cuz I didn't want to bother you." You're not a bother. Just
40:24
say hi. It'll be a blast. And uh and then let's have a lot of fun sharing our
40:30
love of Disney and positive stuff in a kind environment, in a fun environment, in a safe environment as we move to the
40:37
future and as we make this world a little bit better, one interaction at a
40:42
time, whether it's virtually or in person. But that's what I got. Hope you're having a very happy new year.
40:49
Hopefully you have subscribed by now. If you haven't, I'd love it if you did that. I'd also love a uh rating on Apple
40:55
Podcast or Spotify or wherever you're listening to. Heck, even YouTube, I guess. And um and we can move into the
41:01
future together and hopefully share this love of Disney and positive stuff together. Happy New Year, everybody.
41:08
Make it a great one and keep kind. [Music]
41:16
[Applause]
41:25
[Music]
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