For comedian and star podcaster Ed Larson, Disney isn’t just a brand, it’s solace.
“I really have enjoyed coming home and just watching Disney movies after a full day of horror and murder and aliens,” Larson tells Orlando Weekly. “It’s kind of how I Zen out, with a bowl and some Disney.”
Larson, best known as co-host of “The Last Podcast on the Left,” made his name diving into the macabre. But with his latest project, Larson merges two worlds few would expect to meet: the wholesome magic of Walt Disney World and the morbid sleuthing of true crime.
“I grew up in Florida,” Larson says. “Disney was where we were most happy as a family. I’m an only child, and my parents are gone, so going to Disneyland now is a way for me to remember them in a fond way.”
Dead Men Tell Some Tales: A Dark Dive Into Disney History, collaboratively created with YouTuber “Disney Dan” Becker, explores the tragedies, scandals and forgotten stories beneath the parks’ surfaces. It’s an “R-rated live comedy show.”
“Disney adults are darker than we give them credit for,” Larson says. “There’s a lot of crossover between ‘Last Podcast’ fans and Disney fans. I wanted to give them something they don’t have.”
Still, the show isn’t all nostalgia and pixie dust. The show covers everything from park accidents to Disney’s darkest movies to eerie myths surrounding nearby planned community Celebration. One story in particular caught Larson’s attention: a helicopter service from LAX to Disneyland that crashed twice in 1968, killing more than 50 people.
“I was like, ‘No one’s talking about this story!’” Larson says. “It’s like a crazy huge number of people. It’s a real disaster. And it was sponsored by Disney.”
Despite the grim subjects, the show isn’t meant to destroy the magic; it’s meant to flesh out its history.
“To show people that you can really love this stuff, but acknowledge that it has a darkness to it,” Larson says. “When we enjoy something, we must acknowledge what costs it takes to make it.”
Larson hopes the show bridges disparate audiences through humor and shared fascination.
“It’s an homage. I love Disney. These are the crazy things that happened at this place we all love,” Larson says. “This isn’t meant to be like I want people to stop going. When I do this, it’s like, ‘This is crazy, we should all go to Disney and talk about it.’”
Larson’s collaboration with Disney Dan began in true internet fashion: sliding into each other’s DMs.
“I was watching Dan, and I’m like, ‘This dude looks and sounds like me,’” Larson says with a laugh. “Then out of nowhere, he DM’ed me about roast comedy. We hung out, and I was like, ‘I get along with this guy!’ So we became friends, and I really wanted to work with him and do something in the Disney sphere.”
The pair bonded over a shared love for Disney and a fascination with the bizarre. Soon, they began developing this show, a blend of factual storytelling and comedic commentary.
“I’d say it’s 50-50 between history and satire,” Larson says. “Dan’s the Disney historian, and he really knows what he is talking about. I need his historian buff. I’m more of the guy who makes fun of the facts than finds all of them.”
Before podcast fame, Larson’s comedy roots began in Tallahassee, where he studied at Florida State University alongside “Last Podcast” co-host Henry Zebrowski. The two formed a sketch troupe called Murderfist, which they dubbed “sketch comedy for the devil.” They performed regularly at a local gay bar named Brothers, now 926 Bar.
“It was the only place in Tallahassee that had a stage and lights,” Larson says. “We did shows there for three years, and after college our sketch group moved on up to New York City together.”
Since then, Larson’s career has come full circle. After a run performing at iconic venues like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville with the “Last Podcast,” he returned to 926 Bar for a solo set.
“I was going from the pinnacle of entertainment to the place that I started on this little tour,” he says. “I honestly started to cry; it was emotional.”
Throughout the show they tackle grim historical fact, but Larson sees comedy as a unifying force to cope.
“We forgot how to have fun. I want to remind people we can care about people, but we can still make off-color jokes,” Larson says. “It is still OK to say dirty words and talk about people who have died. We can do both. We can be just and still be dirty and dark.”
For Larson, embracing that balance between theme park magic and the grit of reality is the heart of the show.
“Come with an open mind. If you are a ‘Last Podcast’ fan, we are going to deliver on that. I’m taking something fluffy and cuddly and showing you why it’s filled with murder and blood,” Larson explains.
And for Larson, this Orlando gig will have deep personal connections.
“My childhood best friend is going to come, and then my other childhood best friend — who I used to go to the parks with all the time — his parents are coming,” he says. “They’re going to all see me perform comedy for the first time, and I’m going to be talking about the thing that we grew up enjoying together.”
Beyond grist for dark humor, Disney’s creative spirit does in fact inspire Larson’s craft.
“The one thing I miss, and I’m really sad that I wasn’t able to see it before it closed, is Muppet*Vision,” he says. “That taught me, like, comic timing and joke structure. That was, like, a really important thing for me to become a comedian. So, even as a kid, I’m writing my own jokes and I’m learning timing. Muppet*Vision 3D was a very influential ride for my life and my comedy career, without even realizing it was.”
The goal is to talk about the dark side of the Mouse, but with a fond wink and a chuckle.
“I want to bring people together and have fun. I want everyone leaving that place like, ‘It was really dark and wasn’t what I expected,’” Larson says. “It’s not preachy. It’s just, ‘Look at this crazy stuff that happened!’ I think anyone can get behind that.”
(Dead Men Tell Some Tales: A Dark Dive Into Disney History, 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, Conduit, 6700 Aloma Ave., Winter Park, conduitfl.com, $33.16)
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This article appears in Nov. 5-11, 2025.