Tag Archives: Disney Podcasts

Keeping the Magic Alive with Disney Podcasts.

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I am always looking for a way to keep the Disney Magic alive between trips. One of the best ways I have found is to follow a Disney Podcast. I am going to take a few moments to talk about two of my favorites. While I am only touching on two, there are many more that I listen to and hope talk about a little more in a future blog post.

 

WDW Radio Show

If you are a true passionate fan of everything Walt Disney World, then you must have heard of Lou Mongello. I don’t know of a single person who tries harder or does more to bring everyone closer to the magic of Walt Disney World than Lou.

My first encounter with Lou Mongello was through his trivia book (The Walt Disney World Trivia Book). My wife came home with his first edition, and I picked it up right away. It not only has the trivia questions with multiple choice answers, but the answer pages also offer a brief description or background along with the answer. It is the perfect way to learn more and get a little closer to Disney World. My wife and I used to sit up in bed and ask each other the questions to see who could get more correct. I think I read his book about a dozen times so far.

I stumbled across his podcast before I even knew what they were or had an iPod. I installed iTunes, grabbed a recent one and was in immediate awe. When you are such huge fans of Disney World as we are, you often find yourselves in the minority among family and close friends. It is hard to find someone with that same passion. Listening to Lou’s podcast each week was like a weekly phone call from a friend and all you do is sit around and talk about Disney World! I eagerly await each Sunday for a new episode.

Some of his topics include his famous top ten lists with Tim Foster, the Wayback machine, were he talks about some of our favorite attractions, and incredible interviews such as Julie Andrews, Richard Sherman and various Imagineers. He will often answer emails, play messages left on his voicemail, and somehow is always on top of the latest news and rumors on the parks. One thing that is always a constant is his incredible enthusiasm for Walt Disney World.

In June 2009, on our family vacation to WDW, Lou held a ‘Meet of the Month’ at MGM Studios during Star Wars Weekends. I can honestly say I have met some famous celebrities and sporting figures, but none of them even closely compared to meeting Lou. He was so incredibly gracious, and took time to speak with everyone and take pictures. He even gave my youngest daughter a free WDW Radio t-shirt because he was so impressed with the t-shirt she had made. It was and still is one of the highlights of that Disney vacation. Lou now has a meet each month at various locations throughout Disney World.

On top of his award-winning podcast, Lou is editor of Celebrations Magazine, along with Tim Foster. If you have not yet ordered a copy, stop what you are doing and go now. I have not yet found anything that compares to the work that they put into this magazine. Each issue has over 80 pages of amazing articles and full color pictures of Walt Disney World, and includes a Featured Ride, Featured Resort, and Featured Movie. They are currently printing issue 12. I will talk much more about it in a future blog post. You can find it at www.celebrationspress.com

Last 5 WDW Radio Show podcast episode titles:

178:    “The Walt Disney World that almost never was, Listener Fact or Fiction, and more”

177:    “Captain EO returns, Listener Email and more”

176:    “Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel”

175:    “Top ten things to do with your dad in Walt Disney World”

174:    “Wayback Machine – Time Keeper”

Some of my personal favorite episodes:

173:    “24 hour Live broadcast recap roundtable”

164:    “Top ten ride vehicles; celebrating the legacy of the Adventurers Club”

135:    “Richard Sherman Interview, Ultimate Disney Dream with Justin Muchoney”

96:     “Top ten sentimental moments in Walt Disney World”

95:     “Cast Members – one of the 7 wonders of WDW”

Some more information and links for WDW Radio and Lou Mongello

Host:   Lou Mongello

Website:   www.wdwradio.com

Website contains Lou’s latest blog posts, links to his audio and video podcasts, a forum to connect with others, and a link to shop for some of his amazing work, such as his trivia and audio guides.

Podcast:   The WDW Radio Show

(New episodes Sunday evenings)

Facebook:   www.facebook.com/wdwradio

Twitter:   www.twitter.com/loumongello

Email:   lou@wdwradio.com

Celebrations Magazine:   www.celebrationspress.com

 

Be Our Guest Podcast

After searching iTunes a few months ago for some more Disney related podcasts, I came upon the Be Our Guest Podcast. The very first episode I listened to, I was hooked! The Be Our Guest Podcast team has two episodes each week, one on Mondays, and one on Fridays. Monday is usually devoted to an interview with a family or individuals about their latest trip to Walt Disney World. Fridays are a roundtable forum with the team about various topics regarding Walt Disney World. Listening to the group, you feel like you are sitting alongside them talking about your favorite resort, ride, or just why you really love Disney so much.

I also discovered his other amazing outlet for Walt Disney magic: Magical Mouse Radio. It is a station on the widely popular Live365 website, and plays Disney Audio 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I have personally not found a Live365 station that has a better selection of Walt Disney Park audio than this one. If you need to get that much closer to Disney at anytime during your day, run to that site, and see what I mean. www.magicalmouseradio.com

Last 5 BeOurGuest podcast episode titles:

246:    “Stacey Aswad” (Stacey is the host of Walt Disney Resort TV)

245:    “ ‘Yehaa’ Bob Jackson and Len Testa”

244:    “Taking Babies to Walt Disney World”

243:    “DVC, Wilderness Lodge, Pop Century, and Great Meals”

242:    “Disney’s Contemporary Resort”

Some of my personal favorite episodes:

277:    “Disney Obsessions”

206:    “Where to be inspired at Walt Disney World”

174:    “Sentimental Journey to Walt Disney World”

143:    “Debbie’s move to Orlando”

112:    “Little things we love at WDW”

241:    “Carl and Ellie of TheRelocatedTourist.com” (Thanks again Mike!!)

Some more information and links for the Be Our Guest Podcast:

Host:   Mike Rahlman

Co-Hosts:   Pam Forrester, Rikki Niblett, Debbie

Website:   www.beourguestpodcast.com

Website contains the team’s latest podcasts posts and links to their message forum, and chat room.

Podcast:   The Be Our Guest Podcast

(New episodes Mondays and Fridays)

Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37042345739

Twitter:        Mike: www.twitter.com/beourguestmike

       Pam: www.twitter.com/TMFLTPam

       Rikki: www.twitter.com/RikkiNibs

Email:   mike@beourguestpodcast.com

                   rikki@beourguestpodcast.com

Blog:   www.adisneyworldafterall.com (Rikki’s blog)

Live365 station:   www.magicalmouseradio.com

 

There are so many more Disney related podcasts out there. One thing that I have been more and more amazed at these past few years is the ever-increasing amount of people who want to share their love for Disney. While I could not mention all of the available podcasts if I wanted to, one thing I can do is really encourage you all to make sure you take a moment to thank the ones that you listen to. Just knowing what it takes to keep up a simple blog, I can’t imagine the work that it takes to put out a very high quality podcast, and do it every week. So make sure this week you take a moment to send the hosts of whatever podcast you listen to a note and thank them for the hard work they do to bring us all closer to the Disney Magic.

What Disney Podcasts do you listen to? Drop a comment and let us know which ones, and why you enjoy them. I don’t know how I would make it between trips without them!

~ Carl

You Have Just Booked Your Disney Vacation… Now What?

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I thought it would be fun to touch on what you do after you have made that very fun and important phone call to book your vacation. Whether you did it on your own, or with a travel agent, your trip is booked and the excitement is mounting! We have been in the situation many a time, and we have always wondered what we could do to build the excitement.  We have found the following to be very useful and helpful- read on!

If you haven’t already, make sure to make your dining reservations as early as possibly in the 180 days allowance.  Having just done this, things went quite smoothly for us.  Have your choices written out for what day and what time you would like it for- be ready to list everything you wish to have to the Disney Cast Member so they can help you efficiently.  Make sure you are flexible with your times, such as 6 and 6:15 aren’t that big of a difference.  Be clear if you are on the dining plan or not, and make sure you have schooled yourself and family on what table service credits cover, meaning some places take one or two. Once those are booked, you can sit back and relax knowing your dining is taken care of!

Carl counts the days until vacation, and we write it on our Disney calendar in the kitchen.  From there, we get everyone involved and we make the old fashioned paper chain to represent each day until we leave.  We write on each paper strip a memory, a Disney park, or a character to decorate it. We hang this very long chain around the kitchen and one family member takes one down each morning.  It is a small thing, but to us it’s one more day to our trip, and this can help with those stressful, not so magical days.

Another thing we do to pass the time is save change.  We make a game of how many clear jars we can fill before we leave, throwing in as much change as we can get our hands on.  My husband and I will get 2 rolls of quarters with each pay check and drop them in- by the time we leave, we have enough for our spending money.  We love to count it the day before, then we all take it to the bank and watch the bank teller’s eyes as we bring all of it in…Always a treat!

We love to pull out the old Disney vacation movies and watch the magic unfold with our kids when they were wee little ones. It always brings a tear, and gets us quite excited for the next trip because we know there are so many more memories to be made.  The same goes with scrapping- I scrapbook all of my Walt Disney World vacations, and just looking at the pictures make me smile.

This next point is something that I just did this morning. I woke up cranky, moody, and I just wasn’t feeling well. I put my iPod on and listened to Epcot Park music… and I immediately was transported to the park in my head, and I felt so much better.  So the next time you wake up cranky, or you’re making dinner, throw on the Disney music – it will bring a smile. I promise.

Did you know that not only is Disney websites helpful with every point of information you can use, but they contain money saving tips and codes?  Disboards.com is a plethora of information that is an excellent source for your Disney needs. If you didn’t book with a code or some kind of deal, you will want to check this site several times to watch for deals that WDW releases periodically. You can save hundreds of dollars with deals such as free dining or percentages off your rack rate.

Listening to Disney podcasts will also keep you up to date on renovations, ride closings, character changes, and special events. We love to listen to Lou Mongello on WDW Radio, the DIS Podcast team on the DIS Unplugged, and Matt Hochberg, Mike Newel, Mike Scopa, and Len Testa on the WDW Today Podcast.  Carl is hooked on Be Our Guest Podcast, which I still have to find the time to listen to as well.  Make sure you email and enter contest as they have some great prizes that you can use on your next vacation!

I feel making a packing list for your trip can also get you very excited.  You can make one 6 months in advance, 1 month, or 1 day before- whatever you feel works.  I like to make mine about a month before so I can pick up my items over that following 30 days.   Doing it this way puts less stress on everyone to get it the day before we leave, plus it’s a lot of fun to bring the suitcases out early and know you are packing for your trip.

Enjoy counting down to your trip… we will too!

Keeping the Disney Magic Alive at Home.

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Vacations end, and reality creeps back in. Back at work, and you can’t believe you are already there. HOW do you keep the Disney magic alive? Here’s a list of how we have dealt with the “Disney Depression.” 

We try to use our camcorder and camera as much as possible when we are at WDW. With photos, we frame our favorites around the house and scrapbook the rest.  Seeing these bring back the memories, and help when we have a rough day. We watch our home vacation videos on ‘family night’ – lights low, couch moved up, and we love laughing about all of our magical moments caught on tape.  We also love ordering the newest WDW planning DVD and planning a night of viewing and Disney board games. 

YouTube has also been a great source of Disney fun. We search for different attractions and play them on our living room television, pretending we are on the rides. If you want to have some fun, make up your own fast passes for the kids-they will love it! 

“Celebrations” Magazine Publications, created by Tim Foster and Lou Mongello, is our absolute favorite magazine. Tim, Lou and his crew showcase rides, shows, resorts, movies and the most beautiful pictures of Walt Disney World you have ever seen. We highly encourage you to try an issue out at www.celebrationspress.com.  We will have a much more in depth review of that magazine when the next issue comes out, sometime towards the end of the month.

Disney Podcasts seem to be popping up everywhere. We enjoy the WDW Radio show, WDW Today, and the DIS Unplugged. Podcasts are not only great sources of information, but you can also win a prize or two. We have been fortunate to win a stay at the Dolphin resort, and other cool stuff just by emailing and asking questions.  

As you know if you are reading this, blogs keep the magic alive as well. Hearing about our favorite attraction or food brings us right to the memory, and of course makes us want to be there even more. 

Last, but not least, wearing our favorite Disney clothes is like getting a hug from Mickey himself. We would love if the WDW smell stayed on our shirts and such after we got home…but then we may never wash them, and that’s just gross. Our favorites are the hoodie sweatshirts with the year we were there – we are probably known as the Disney twins in our city every time we leave the house with them on. 

We want to hear how you keep the Disney magic alive at home-post your tips here or on our Facebook fan page. Have a great day!

 Carl and Ellie Peters