I get motion sick on a swing set.
So the fact that Disney has convinced a group of celebrities to sit in a spinning teacup and answer questions about their deepest Disney secrets makes me feel simultaneously impressed and deeply unwell.
Disney Parks has launched a new interview series called Teacup Confessions, and the concept is exactly what it sounds like. Celebrities hop onto the Mad Tea Party at Disneyland, and as the teacups whirl, they chat about their latest projects and their Disney hot takes. The guests include actors, musicians, athletes, creators, and pop culture personalities, and no two conversations are the same. The tagline is that the result is piping hot confessions, and I will be honest, I was ready to roll my eyes at the puns right up until I got to the guest list.
Here is every episode released so far:
Episode One features Tahj, Tamera, and Tia Mowry. You might know Tia and Tamera from Twitches and Tahj from Smart Guy. The three of them jumped into one teacup at Disneyland park, and Disney teases a couple of questions to get you to click: which sibling secretly likes K-Pop, and what do people always get wrong about twins? This is probably the most chaotic combination of personalities in the series, and I mean that as the highest compliment.
Episode Two features Piper Curda and Bobby Moynihan. Disney says these two hopped straight from the glade to the Mad Tea Party, a nod to Disney and Pixar’s Hoppers. They compare live-action acting with voice acting and reveal which animal they would hop into if given the chance, which I think is the best question anyone could ask a person on a spinning ride.
Episode Three features Anna Cathcart. She takes a whirl on the teacups at Disneyland park while chatting about the roles she wants to try next and her favorite Disneyland memory.
Episode Four features Paris Hilton. She dishes on her favorite Disney memories, how much she loves spending park days with her kids, and what fans can expect from the next era of Paris Hilton. Disney’s headline for this one is the two words you would expect, and I will not repeat them.
Episode Five features Josh Groban. He talks about his Disneyland favorites and his new movie-themed album, CINEMATIC, including songs from the record and the Disney character he would love to duet with. Considering the man has built a career on big, soaring songs, I am very curious who he picked.
Episode Six features Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fresh off another All-Star season, he took a ride on the teacups at Disneyland park to talk baseball, Disney, and everything in between, including which Disney character he would want on his baseball roster and who the toughest pitcher he has ever faced was. That one, I have to point out, is a bit different from the others in one important way: according to Disney, episodes one through five are on the Disney Parks YouTube channel, but Max Muncy’s episode is on the @disneyparks social channel on Instagram.
There is a fun bit of irony I cannot let go. As we covered recently, the Mad Tea Party at Disneyland closed for refurbishment in September with no reopening date, and the closure was originally listed as running through late October. So the attraction at the center of this whole series is currently behind construction walls. These interviews were obviously filmed before the closure, and the series header image on Disney’s page dates to earlier in the year, but it is a funny coincidence, and it makes watching the videos feel a little like visiting an old friend. Our earlier post also mentioned that city permits suggest the refurbishment could add new lanterns and a new prop, so the teacups may come back with something new for the next set of guests to spin around.
Why does this series work? Because the format does a lot of the work for you. A normal celebrity interview is a person sitting in a chair, rehearsed and polished. Teacup Confessions puts them in a ride that spins, which lowers their guard in a way a couch never could, and it also taps into a real, shared experience. Almost everyone who has ever been to Disneyland has a teacup story, whether it is spinning the wheel as fast as it will go or begging your family to slow down. Hearing a celebrity admit to the same thing feels relatable in a way that a standard press junket never does.
If you want to watch, the first five episodes are on Disney Parks YouTube, and the Max Muncy episode is on Instagram through @disneyparks. And if you have been wondering who might be next, Disney has not said, so my money is on whoever has a project to promote and a stomach of steel.
We will keep watching for new episodes, so check back with Theme Park Scope for the latest Disney Parks videos and who ends up in the next teacup.
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