The Vanishing Act: David Copperfield’s Lost Disney-MGM Studios Attraction (with Chris Cox) (Ep. 546)

The Disney Dish with Jim Hill

Len Testa and Jim Hill welcome award-winning mind reader and performer Chris Cox (BBC and Broadway) for a deep dive into one of Disney’s most fascinating “what could have been” stories.

  • The ambitious plans for David Copperfield’s Magic Underground restaurant

  • How the New York flagship nearly opened before money troubles pulled the plug

  • Michael Eisner’s enthusiasm for magic and themed dining in the 1990s

  • Why Disney-MGM Studios was slated to host Copperfield’s magical dining experience

  • How timing, costs, and the decline of themed restaurants caused the project to vanish

From collapsing billboards in Times Square to a restaurant where your table might levitate, this is the story of the Disney dining experience that almost was — and why it disappeared.

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2025-08-25 62 min

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