I have been pondering how I would describe this unique podcast. And all I could come up with is ‘this is not the podcast I started out looking for, but it’s the podcast that I look for now’. Confused? Well let me explain.
We all may remember the day we put the search word “Disney” in our podcast aggregator. If you were like me there were only 4 or 5 when I first started my search. Or maybe your quest was more recent yielding well over 100 Disney related podcasts. And like me you wanted to hear some park attraction audio, the latest news, or tips on how to make your next trip the best it could be. But once I knew the latest news before the resort bus driver did, how to get that Le Cellier ADR, or heard the Carousel of Progress audio enough times to quote the dialogue verbatim, I wanted more! More information on the inner working of the attractions. More details that I can point out to my indifferent family members, so that maybe they can love this park as much as I do. How did we get from orange groves in California to the largest tourist destination in the world? Who thought up the many ride vehicles that immerse us in the story of each attraction and how authentic is the theming of each land?
Well your hosts brothers Matt & Nate look at such details as they focus on the history of attractions around the world. This is not your mothers’ dry boring history class though. Did you know that Tyra Banks was part of Alien Encounter? (Too bad she wasn’t the one breathing on our necks though) You know you emptied your piggybanks when you heard Walt’s house went on sale recently. What was the California of Walt’s time like? Or how about how we came to have the cool, sleek monorail or everyone’s relaxing favorite the People Mover? And to really understand all the fine details of each World Showcase pavilion from the architecture to the shops to the cuisine, how much that would enhance your present appreciation of that park! And that’s just the point I am trying to make. I look to WedWay Radio to augment my next trip, to be grateful for all the wonder that is the Disney parks.
To stop there makes this a great cast, but some of the most interesting episodes deal with attractions that I have and never will be able to ride. The series on the 1964 World’s Fair undoubtedly took a lot of research, but produced some of the most interesting gems and facets I had never heard. The lost Disneyland attractions that were never built such as The Uranium Mine, The Garden of the Gods or the Love Bug ride sounded like amusing yet missed concepts. And even a glance at the EPCOT attractions now extinct shed light on details I missed on my earlier trips.
So, if you’re ready to make that leap, the leap that will send you, dare say to the level of a ‘Disney Geek’, give Wedway Radio a listen. And then when you’re looking at that hidden gem and the guest next to you utters the tidbit they learned from the podcast, you know you’re in good company.
Here are some standout episodes and series to start with:
40 Years of Magic: As we anticipate to celebrate Walt Disney World’s 40th birthday in October, they trek back to the swampland of the 1960’s (Episode #72), the fast pace construction of the 70’s (episode #76), the growth of the 80’s (Episode #81) and soon a to look at the 90’s and on to today.
Episode #75 Disney Goes Tiki. OK, I really like the South Seas style and décor. And it looks like Walt did as well. From the Tahitian Terrace to the Polynesian Resort and now to the recently reopened Tiki Room it is astonishing to see this style embraced in the resorts.
Episode #46 Matt’s Thesis (An Attraction Study) While yes, this might be the closest episode to your mother’s History class, it does pose deep thought on “Which Disney films have inspired the most attractions?’
For brief highlights of the latest Disney podcasts you can follow Shawn on Twitter at @Dis_Pod_Review.
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