The Wdw Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #97 for the week of December 14, 2008. This week, we’re going to explore in detail not one, but two of Walt Disney World’s most well-themed resorts, as we take an in-depth look at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter Resorts. Joining me from merry old England is Andrew Willey, creator of one of the most in-depth online resources about the resorts. Together, we’ll discover and help you learn more about not just the rooms, amenities and ways to get the most out your time there, but the incredibly detailed Imagineered back-story and interesting history of these properties. It’s a fun, informative look at two resorts that offer two unique experiences, and lots of wonderful time outside the parks. I’ll play some more of your voicemails at the end of the show, so sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show. You can email the show at lou@wdwradi

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #96 for the week of December 7, 2008. Continuing along with the spirit of the holiday season, we’re going to look at Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in the Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square. But rather than just a simple walkthrough of this quaint little store, we will once again dig deeper into it’s story, long history and the meaning behind some of the things you’ll see next time your browsing through, or even just walking past. Joining me this week on this DSI: Disney Scene Investigation is fellow Disney Geek George Taylor. He will also talk with me about some of Walt Disney World’s other Christmas stores including some very interesting little details and Magical Moments, some extinct shops from days gone by, and we’ll even give you our Walt Disney World Christmas Lists, just in case Santa is listening this week. From one list to another, we’ll next look at another Top 10 list with Ti

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #95 for the week of November 30, 2008. We’ll start off this week’s show by getting into the holiday spirit with a festive look at one of the very best ways to celebrate the seasons at Walt Disney World - Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Joining me this week to talk about the party, what it entails and the best ways to enjoy and get the most out of it is my former co-host for the day, Lori Burke, as we both agree that this is one of the best special events in Walt Disney World, and most enjoyable times of year to visit. Some time ago, I began a segment on the show called the 7 Wonders of Walt Disney World. Inspired by the 7 wonders of the modern world, we looked at things in Walt Disney World that were so amazing, impressive or important, that they rose to the level of a true wonder. After getting through 6, we saved the best for last. This week, a roundtable of guests inclu

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #94 for the week of November 23, 2008. In News from Walt Disney World this week, we’ll look at the Christmas Day Parade taping schedule, new dining offerings in the parks, a new way to celebrate your child’s birthday, and the new, ultimate thrill ride at Walt Disney World. December brings us not just the holiday season and a great time to visit Walt Disney World, but the annual gathering of Disney fans from around the world as past of the annual MouseFest event. This week, I enlist the help of a MouseFest veteran and first-timer in Glenn Whelan and Greg Grimsley to join me to talk about the event, planning for it, tips for getting the most out of the experience, my events, and more. Whether you’re attending this year, thinking about joining us in the future, or even if you’re not sure what MouseFest is or if it’s right for you, I think you’ll find this to be both helpful and fu

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #93 for the week of November 16, 2008. In the Walt Disney World News this week, we’ll look at Disney’s latest technological initiative, which will keep Guests connected and informed in amazing new ways starting next year. I’ll also tell you where and when you can go meet Santa, and the reopening of new, old shops in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I just returned from Walt Disney World, and brought back some audio segments that I think you’ll enjoy. First, I had a chance to visit and have a personal tour of the new Nine Dragons restaurant in China in Epcot’s World Showcase. Having recently opened after a long refurbishment, we discuss the changes to the restaurant’s décor and menu, as well as explore its cultural heritage and beautiful, rich symbolism located throughout. I also had a wonderful opportunity to sit and chat with a man whose work for the Walt Disney Company I have adm

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #92 for the week of November 9, 2008. There is big news coming out of Walt Disney World this week, as Disney has reacted to the tough economy by giving Guests a pair of vacation deals which could give more families the chance to visit Walt Disney World and the Disney Cruise Line. In my first segment, we’re going to explore Finding Nemo: The Musical, as Glenn Whelan and I look at it’s history, story, music and what it took to bring this Broadway-quality production to a Disney park. I’ll then open up the inbox and answer more of your emails with the help of Beci Mahnken. Topics include romantic spots in Walt Disney World, including where to “pop the question” and vow renewal ceremonies, the best steakhouse on property, questions about how to get chosen to help open the Magic Kingdom, spending New Year’s Eve in Walt Disney World and much more. Before I end the show, I’ll announc

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #91 for the week of November 2, 2008. We’ll start off this week’s show with some news from Walt Disney World, including information on a number of special events going on now and in the coming weeks. From there, we’ll chat with Disney’s Chief Magic Official and all around nice guy Justin Muchoney about what he’s been up to, what’s new and maybe even what’s next. In our next segment, I’ll fire up the old Wayback Machine and take us back to a time before Walt Disney World had even opened. And joining me on my trek through the Florida swamps is fellow Disney geek Craig Wheeler, as he and I take a close look at a Walt Disney World we never knew by exploring the Lost Resorts of the Magic Kingdom. It’s a fun look back at what was supposed to be and might have been, with a little wondering and wishing as well. I’ll answer a few of your emails, announce an impromptu new contest and g

Hello and welcome once again to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #90 for the week of October 26, 2008. Timing is everything, and this week I have two segments for you that I chose just for that reason. With the upcoming Presidential election, I thought it would be a great opportunity to take a detailed look at the Magic Kingdom’s Hall of Presidents. It’s an attraction rich in history, unique in concept and is unfortunately often overlooked. Kristen Helmstetter, who wrote her Honors Thesis on this attraction, joins me to discuss its history, story, changes and importance. In my next segment, we’ll celebrate the Halloween season, along with one of our all-time favorite attractions, as Tim Foster and I take a fun look at the Top Ten Things We Love About the Haunted Mansion. With so much to enjoy and appreciate about this timeless classic, Top 10 might be a bit of a misnomer on this one. I’ll have more updates at the end of the show

Hello and welcome once again to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #89 for the week of October 19, 2008. I just returned from Walt Disney World, where I was covering a number of special events for the show. I was able to attend and bring you audio from the opening of the new Cast Member Wellness Center and speak with Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton and worldwide parks operations president Al Weiss, as well as the 2009 Walt Disney World Ambassador ceremony and meet the two new Ambassadors. I also attended a sneak peek of the new T-Rex Café in Downtown Disney, and will bring you a little something different from that event this week. I’ll have more News and a quick visit to the Walt Disney World Rumor Mill. I’ll introduce a new segment this week called “How to Be an Imagineer,” in response to the question I’ve received quite often over the past few years. Disney Imagineer Ed Romeo joins me to talk about his story and journey t

Hello everybody and welcome once again to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #88 for the week of October 12, 2008. We’re going to start off this week with our tribute to the Adventurer’s Club. And rather than just a look at what it was, its rooms and shows, we’re going to explore the Club like never before, because if you think you knew everything there was to know about the Adventurer’s Club, you might be a bit surprised. Joining me this week is world-renowned Disney historian and author Jim Korkis, who is going to share his exhaustive research into the history and details of the Club, and the stories behind the stories. We’ll go way back and examine it from the very beginning, from concept, to drawing board changes, its creators, design and so much more. Moving from one party to another, we’ll next head on over to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, as George Taylor and I tell you all about this special event, what you can do w

Hello everybody and welcome once again to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this, my friends, is show #87 for the week of October 5, 2008. I’ll start off this week with a brief trip to the Walt Disney World Rumor Mill, before Tim Foster joins me for another Top 10 segment. This week, we’ll look at our Top 10 Sounds from Walt Disney World, and we’ll also talk a little bit about the upcoming first issue of Celebrations Magazine. The email inbox has really been filling up, so I’ll answer a number of your emails with Beci Mahnken from MouseFan Travel. Topics include everything from what may happen to the Cinderella Castle Suite in 2009, to the best places outside the parks to watch fireworks, when resort discounts may be announced, the Haunted Mansion’s 999 Happy Haunts Event and more. As always, please stay tuned at the end of the show for more information and announcements, as well as your voicemails, but for now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy

Hello everybody and welcome once again to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #86 for the week of September 28, 2008. I’m back from a busy week in Walt Disney World with a full recap of the week’s events, including News and details about what is coming for 2009, including the Celebration Vacations, changes and new additions to the Wide World of Sports Complex, and a new experience in Fantasyland with Tinker Bell and her fairy friends. I’ll talk to some executives with Disney to discuss just what’s coming next. I’ll talk about my trip with a number of other friends and listeners to the show, as we recorded our recap of the week live from Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. We’ll talk about everything from our experience at the newly reopened Nine Dragons restaurant in World Showcase, dinner at the Wave at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, the last nights of the Adventurer’s Club, and if we didn’t talk about food enough, I’ll play our live revi

Hello everybody and welcome once again to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #85 for the week of September 21, 2008. This week’s show is a special one, as for the very first time, I welcome a single guest, who joins me as the very first Co-Host for the Day. Winner of the Dream Team Project charity auction lot, Lori Burke pulls up a chair and a microphone for a number of segments. We’ll cover the BIG news coming out of Walt Disney World this week, including the new resort offerings, and what the Disney Parks will hold for you in 2009, and why you need to spend some special time there. We’ll also do some fun Walt Disney World trivia in our Fact or Fiction segment, a Best of the Best for you and your children, a coupe of helpful tips for parents taking their kids to the parks, answer your listener email and so much more. As always, stay tuned at the end of the show for more information and announcements, but for now, just sit back, r

Hello and welcome once again to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #84 for the week of September 14, 2008. I’ll kick off this week’s show with some news and rumors from Walt Disney World, and then I’ll take you on a brief trip back to Walt Disney World with me, as I look at some highlights from my recent trip. Not a day by day trip report per se, but more looking at a few experiences I had that you might not have known even exist in and out of the parks. From there, I left the joys of a No Way Jose’ at Beaches and Cream and headed out onto the high seas for a special, 5-day cruise aboard the Disney Magic. In addition to a scheduled 2 days at Castaway Cay, this voyage was even more magical, as it was hosted by Deb Wills and Steve Barrett, and featured great events and one surprise after another. So I invited the hosts to join me this week to recap the cruise and talk about some of the magic on the Magic. And the time has finally com

Welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #83 for the week of September 7, 2008. I literally just stepped off the Disney Magic, so I apologize for not having any news or rumors again this week, but I will give you a few updates I picked up while in Walt Disney World. As if the first weekend of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, the inaugural Expedition Everest Challenge, the final Hoopla at the Adventurer’s Club, and just the fact that it’s Walt Disney World isn’t enough to get you down to the parks during the weekend of September 26-28, then my first segment just might be the extra little push you need. Adam Roth, the “boy wonder” behind the Celebrations 25 event, joins me to talk about World Wide Weekend, the weekend-long, signature event that includes backstage tours, group rides, a chance to meet fellow Disney fans and so much more. I’ll be attending as well, and we’ll tell you all about the events, and how yo

Welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #82 for the week of August 31, 2008 . I’m producing the show early this week, so there won’t be any news or rumors, but I do something for you that I think you’ll enjoy. Jim Henson’s MuppetVision 3D is a landmark attraction in Walt Disney World not just for it’s groundbreaking technology, classic characters, and truly hysterical show script. It’s an attraction that begins outside the show itself and carries over into arguably one of the very best queues anywhere in the Disney parks. But beyond that, it represents the work of its creator Jim Henson, and serves as a reminder of the relatively recent marriage between the Disney and Henson companies – and a deal whose negotiations began more than a decade ago. This week, I am pleased to welcome Jim Lewis and Craig Shemin, former staff writers for the Jim Henson Company, who were instrumental in the concept, design and creation of MuppetVisi

Welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. This is show #81 for the week of August 24, 2008, and as always I am your host, Lou Mongello We’ll start off with some news from Walt Disney World, including a new, interactive experience for Guests, and in the Walt Disney World Rumor Mill, we’ll take a look another add-on, outside-the-park adventure experience that may or may not be coming in the future. One of my favorite segments on the show are the DSI: Disney Scene Investigations, and this week, we take a look at one of my favorite attractions – Peter Pan’s Flight. We’ll look at the history of the attraction, its roots and connection to Disneyland, examine it scene-by-scene, and explore why it remains such a timeless classic. There are so many reasons to go to Walt Disney World – family vacation with the kids, honeymooning with your new spouse, the big family reunion, or even the occasional solo research trip. But what about just a bunch of the guys getting together and going

Welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello and this is show #80 for the week of August 17, 2008. This week’s show is very special, as I will be devoting an entire episode to a single segment, and more importantly, a single man. He is Richard M. Sherman. You know him as one of the Sherman Brothers, the most successful songwriting team in history, and the name that defines the music and mood of so many Disney feature films and theme park attractions. Mr. Sherman joins me in this one-to-one interview about his career beginnings, time at the Disney Studios, working for and with Walt Disney, and the stories behind the stories of working on timeless classics like Mary Poppins and legendary songs such as “it’s a small world” and hundreds of others. I’ll end the show not with announcements or voicemails, but instead, with my small tribute to the work of the Sherman Brothers in thanks for Mr. Sherman joining me on the show, and for a lifetime of memories

Welcome to The WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. This is show #79 for the week of August 10, 2008, and as always I am your host, Lou Mongello We’ll start off by looking at some news from Walt Disney World, including notable rehabs, closures, exclusive Passholder opportunities and more. In the Walt Disney World Rumor Mill, we may be getting some new updates on Star Tours 2.0, Lucky the Dinosaur might not be as fortunate as his name suggests, and you may get a new opportunity to see just what else goes on at the Laugh Floor coming soon. One of Walt Disney World’s true Hidden Treasures comes to us from listener Sarah Ames, who joins me to show you that no one has more fun than us… except YeHaa Bob Jackson over at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort. He and his show are truly the Best of the Best, and we’ll tell you how, when and why you should make a special trip to the River Roost lounge to join Bob for his show. I’ve been promising that I would answer more of your emails, and this week I

Welcome to the WDW Radio Show - Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am Lou Mongello happy to back with you again this week, and this is show #78 for the week of August 3, 2008. In this week's breaking Walt Disney World News, I'll have information about a new dining package coming in 2009, as well as some changes to ticket pricing. I'll update you on the new Kidani Village at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and some other changes around the resorts. In the parks, I'll tell you how and when you can audition for a new attraction in Walt Disney World, and in the Rumor Mill, I'll give you a hint at what movie is being rumored for a new attraction in the parks. Disney's Year of a Million Dreams has always extended far beyond the handing out of physical prizes in the parks, truly embracing its namesake. In fact, it has really always been about making dreams come true for people, and often times, dreams they may never have known they even had. Whether it is giving a family a night in a Castle, or crowning o