Podcast
Keys To The Kingdom
Hosted by Amanda Lund & Matt Gourley · EN
Keys to the Kingdom is an unprecedented, eight-part docuseries exploring the peculiar backstage life of theme park characters, performers, and fans. Hosted by recovering theme park employees Matt Gourley (Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Superego, Drunk History) and Amanda Lund (Earios Co-founder, The Complete Woman, New Girl), each installment promises insider secrets, stories of absurd guest interactions, and fascinating tales of workplace minutiae. Brought to you by Earios in conjunction with Tradecraft Media.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
9episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Happily Ever After
Nov 27, 202300:32:42Tap to summarizeDoes the fairly tale ending really exist? For the fan, for the theme park worker, for your intrepid hosts? In the season finale of Keys to the Kingdom, Matt and Amanda aim to find out. Guests include Erich Schwartzel, Mark McConville, Rebecca Martens, Nick Pettigrew, Jim Gourley, and Marion Lund. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Be Our Guest
Nov 20, 202300:32:23Tap to summarizeSometimes just being a theme park fan is a story in itself. In this episode, Matt and Amanda not only speak to guests about their strange and scarring experiences, but they themselves revisit their origins in an attempt to rate the major theme parks. Guests include Sarah Campbell, Josh Dean, Michael Bowes, Todd Levin, and Andy Daly as The Walker. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Scare-actors
Nov 13, 202300:31:35Tap to summarizeHalloween season in the theme park world is a very spooky time. Not since Burning Man, the Renaissance Faire, or Woodstock '99 has there been a more lusty gathering of lovable weirdos and questionable characters. In this episode, Matt and Amanda speak with all types, from monster to manager, within the spooky season performer world. Guests include Cherry Blossom, Drew McWeeny, Mark Gagliardi, Rebecca Lumianski, Eric Martin, Scott Aukerman, and Brandon Adams. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Professionals
Nov 6, 202300:32:35Tap to summarizeThese guys do it all: act, sing, dance! But if they're not careful, they may find themselves stuck in the theme park world forever and ever. On the other hand, if they're not careful, they may find themselves without a job in this ever-evolving workplace, losing vital stability, premium benefits, and what amounts to a pretty cushy career. Guests include Gale Brennan, Grandma Agva, Mark Gagliardi, Cherry Blossom, and Rebecca Lumianski. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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We Need to Talk About the Fans
Oct 30, 202300:33:58Tap to summarizeThe Theme Park Fan is its own species, one that runs the gamut from harmless enthusiast to harmful obsessive. In this episode, Matt and Amanda will share stories of guests from both extremes, and everywhere in between. Guests include Taran Killam, Jodi Eichler-Levine, Epaulette Babe, Jake Fite, and Molly Hawkey as Flora. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Breaking the Rules
Oct 23, 202300:31:32Tap to summarizeWhat about those rare theme park employees and guests that don't dutifully follow the rules? On this episode of Keys to the Kingdom, we're talking with the bad boys, the rebels, the wayward fuzzies and the defiant fans that stand up to the system despite the consequences. Guests include Nader Shokair, Rebecca Lumianski, Jeff B. Davis, Maria Blasucci, Sona Movsesian, Mark Felt, and Drew McWeeny. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Good, the Bad, and the Fuzzy
Oct 16, 202300:32:41Tap to summarizeThe theme park fuzzy. Costumed head-to-toe in a fur-covered, foam-lined, portable sweat lodge. Why do they do it? For money? For honor? Matt and Amanda seek to find out as they talk to a menagerie of chipmunks, donkeys, and of course, mice. Guests include White Glove 1, White Glove 2, Scott Aukerman, Jeff B. Davis, and Space Ranger. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Operation Petticoat
Oct 16, 202300:38:44Tap to summarizeWhat is it like to don the silken glove, sparkling tiara, and massive cultural burden of the world's most beloved princesses? Former theme park princess Amanda Lund and former theme park performer Matt Gourley sit down to speak with a diverse collection of past and present princesses, culture experts, and one very sad prince. Guests include Deep Skirt, Ruby Rose, Kristen Meinzer, Jessica Lesaca, and Epaulette Babe. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Introducing Keys to the Kingdom
Sep 12, 202300:02:53Tap to summarizeHave you ever wondered what it's like to work as a beloved theme park princess? To toil a full day in the sun, dressed head-to-toe in a fuzzy costume? To be stalked by obsessed and sometimes crazed fans? Hosted by Amanda Lund and Matt Gourley and with first-hand accounts by a diverse gathering of characters, actors, and entertainers, Keys to the Kingdom reveals what it's like to step out into the magical world of make-believe and into the hard-reality of the theme park performer lifestyle. Get 8 full-length, bonus companion episodes featuring numerous extended and unheard interviews and more at https://plus.acast.com/s/keystothekingdom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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