The Collection Chamber: DISNEY'S THE D SHOW

The D Show On CD-ROM.

A Disney Trivia Game Show For The Entire Family!

Get ready to buss-in on a non-stop ride through the world of Disney trivia! See just how much you know about animated and live-action films, TV, sports, theme parks and the Disney archives. Packed with trivia, puzzles and challenges, The D Show delivers hours of entertainment
2 jam-packed CD's feature 30 interactive game shows!
Over 500 trivia questions!
Over 150 video clips and 600 unique photos from the Disney archives!
60 bonus rounds with fast-paced, beat-the-clock gameplay!
D-Fibulator speed round with 450 true or false questions!
1 to 3 players!

~ from the back of the box

Released in 1998 by Disney Interactive, Disney's The D Show is one of the most blatant knockoffs I've ever seen. Ostensibly You Don't Know Jack with a Disney skin, it still manages to capture some of the entertainment value of that early Jackbox series, but this one is for people who not only like Disney, but know and live it.

The core of the game is straightforward. You answer Disney-themed trivia questions across several rounds, guided along by a virtual host who tries very hard to keep the energy up. The exaggerated, slightly sarcastic host delivers quips, encouragement, and the occasional groan when you flub an answer. Not quite as acerbic as Jack's Cookie Masterson, but an adequate replacement for younger audiences. Presentation is pure 90s multi-media; you have bright menus, chunky fonts, and a mass load of QuickTime video snippets compressed to live in a thumbnail of a 640x480 screen. As for the way the game play, it's simple yet serviceable. Each player - up to three - is assigned a colour and a letter on the keyboard to go with it. Blue is Q, Red is B and Green P (hehe). This is your buzzer, and the number keys are used to select your answer. Occasionally, another key is used, but the host will scream about it before use, so you don't really need to remember much.

Each main round gives you the choice of one of three themes (left).
The D-Bucks earned differ depending on difficulty, but all questions are multiple choice (right).

Most of the game is made up of multiple choice trivia questions. The range of topics is impressively broad considering the single theme, with themes covering animated classics, live-action films, television shows, theme parks and even corporate Disney history. Difficulty varies wildly and will entirely depend on how big a fan you are. Some questions feel like softballs for casual fans, while others dive into territory that only die-hards will know. I did notice one bug or quirk. Starting a new game seems to repeat the same topics again, suggesting the question pool may be semi-fixed rather than fully randomized. That's not necessarily a deal-breaker, but it does mean repeat play sessions can feel familiar a little sooner than you might expect.

Where The D Show tries to shake things up is in its assortment of bonus rounds, which add variety beyond standard Q&A. These can involve quicker decision-making, visual recognition, or slightly altered rules that reward speed or accuracy over pure knowledge. A great way for the less knowledgable younguns to catch up with their youthful reflexes. While none of these modes are especially deep, they do a decent job of breaking up the pacing and keeping the game from feeling like one long trivia exam. The variety also helps the game feel closer to a television game show than a static quiz database, even if the execution remains firmly within the technical limits of its time.

One of the bonus rounds. Match the concept art with the final rendering to score D Bucks (left).
The D-Fibulator round. Quickly hit True or False to the shown statement to earn more fake moolah (right).

Everything builds toward the final round, the memorably named "D-Fibulator", a name Jackbox took back for their Fibbage series. This is the game's climax, designed as a high-pressure, rapid-fire test of Disney knowledge where points (here called D Bucks) can swing dramatically. The heightened presentation and sense of urgency make for a frenetic finale that feels appropriately dramatic, even if mechanically it's still just answering questions. In this case, it's simple true or false questions but it does its job well enough to leave you feeling like you've actually completed something, rather than simply run out of questions.

Viewed today, Disney's The D Show is clearly a product of its time. The interface is dated, the video compression is low quality, and the question repetition limits long-term replay value. That said, it remains a genuinely fun party-style trivia game if you're playing with fellow Disney fans who enjoy shouting answers at the screen. It may gate out anyone outside that bubble, but for its intended audience it still delivers a surprisingly entertaining slice of Disney.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox-X build of DOSBox 0.74 running Windows '95. Press Ctrl-F4 to swap virtual CDs when prompted. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

IMPORTANT - Remember to shut down the emulated version of Windows before exiting DOSBox. This could potentially result in errors, lost saves and corrupt data. The program will automatically shut down when you exit the game.

File Size: 1.16 Gb. Install Size: 1.55 Gb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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WINDOWS '95

WINDOWS '95