Keys To The Kingdom

Nov 27 2023 9 ep. 1.9k
Keys To The Kingdom Podcast artwork

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.
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.

  Arts  Society & Culture  Comedy
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Happily Ever After

Nov 27 2023 32 mins  
Does 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 in

Be Our Guest

Nov 20 2023 32 mins  
Sometimes 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

The Scare-actors

Nov 13 2023 31 mins  
Halloween 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

The Professionals

Nov 06 2023 32 mins  
These 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,

We Need to Talk About the Fans

Oct 30 2023 33 mins  
The 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 numerou

Breaking the Rules

Oct 23 2023 31 mins  
What 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

The Good, the Bad, and the Fuzzy

Oct 16 2023 32 mins  
The 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 featu

Operation Petticoat

Oct 16 2023 38 mins  
What 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, J

Introducing Keys to the Kingdom

Sep 12 2023 2 mins  
Have 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 st