A monthly trip back in time to Walt Disney World - From pre-opening to 25 years ago; your four retro hosts discuss now closed, but not forgotten attractions, designs, architecture and more! Come experience the Vacation Kingdom of the World...the way it was...and the way it is in your memories!
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Take a deep dive into the music of the original EPCOT Center, including:
How the Epcot entrance loop ripped off music from rock bands Alan Parsons Project and Trickster
Hear the original, longer version of "Closer to You," the song from AT&T's "Age of Information" exhibit that predicted the future with incredible accuracy
Composer George Wilkins' favorite piece of music that he wrote for Epcot
The arranger who worked on Bob Moline's Epcot songs, including "Canada (You're a Lifetime Journey)." Hint: he went on to compose the music for a Spaceship Earth rehab
Join us as Todd, Brian, JT, How and our listeners reveal their favorite songs from the many eras of Epcot and we reveal behind-the-scenes details about each of them and the beloved attractions they came from.
96 - Banking at Walt Disney World
Episode 115
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 • Duration 02:29:40
This month Brian leads a discussion about banking at Walt Disney World and everything guests had to do to pay for their transactions at the parks and resorts before debit card terminals and Magic Bands became ubiquitous. Cash was king, but Traveler’s Checks and personal checks were also common before Walt Disney World began allowing credit cards. We’ll reveal how they worked, their benefits, and their frustrations.
We also dive into the history of Disney’s relationship with its original banking partner, Sun Bank. Find about their full-service branches located in each of the parks and near Disney Springs, including the beautiful late-1880s-styled bank on Main Street which is now the Chamber of Commerce, and why we think the bank vault is still there. If you’re a cast member who can confirm or deny our hunch, send us an email!
Todd also takes us into the many advancements in banking technologies that make paying for things in the park easier and more worry-free today.
89 Pleasure Island - Part IV
Episode 106
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 • Duration 01:57:26
For the main topic this month, we head back to Pleasure Island for more fun and excitement. This is Part IV and if you haven’t enjoyed Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3, we highly recommend you take a listen back as these were recorded years ago! How gives us a little recap of how each episode went in the past.
The story on this episode though is changes. How gets us into each club and how they changed after a few years, including themes and names. These include Cage, The Wildhorse Saloon, 8-Trax, Planet Hollywood, Motion, Fulton’s Crab House, BET Club and more. We go through our memories of each of the various iterations and also what we thought of them over the years. The interesting aspect we get into here with Pleasure Island is that it evolved frequently and for the most part, was done to keep people attending and trying to find that club that hit.
This episode also has us reflecting on fads of the era from Wine Coolers, The Chicken Dance, Zima, Planet Hollywood, and line dancing.
Even though this area has come and gone, we discuss where it went and how it went out. Many of us have memories of the big changes in the end and we even discuss the unused concept of Hyperion Wharf. Pleasure Island was a fun concept that worked in many areas and did not work in others. How has promised us a Part V episode about Pleasure Island, so make sure you message him if you are interested in hearing even more history on ‘PI’. Thanks for listening!
25 - Anniversary Special
Season 1 · Episode 1
Wednesday, December 14, 2016 • Duration 01:50:18
Welcome to Episode 25 of the Retro Disney World Podcast: "Anniversary Special" - We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows.
Comments & Corrections- To start this episode, we discuss things that scare us at WDW. Mike wrote in and said he used to be scared of Tick-Tock Croc on Peter Pan's Flight. Kate was scared of Body Wars due to her fear of shrinkage. Hipster Mickey wrote in telling us about being scared during the Studio Backlot Tour. Next up, Brian recaps his visit to the old Golf Resort. Currently, known as Shades of Green, Brian was able to worm his way over there and see what still exists. BJ Major sent us an Epcot Film which was absolutely amazing.
Listener Mail - We had lots of great letters sent in this month. Bernie wrote us to discuss character meet & greets and how it has changed over the years. Brian remembers a paper mache Pete's Dragon and also a walk-around dog from the Shaggy DA. For questions, comments and concerns, please write us - podcast@retrowdw.com
The Orange Bird Film - One of our holy grail films was released a few weeks back and we discuss as a group. The Orange Bird is back in amazing color and he even does a dance for you. We talk about the different types of bird head and give our opinions on which is best. Hope you enjoy the film and check back for more soon...we have lots of rare films that will be released very soon.
Main Topic - This episode is all about anniversaries, including our own! How starts us off with year one then quickly moving into the five year anniversary and tencennial. The fifth is when things got serious; this includes waterski shows, Boardwalk & Baseball and many . Who out there still has their Visor? The was another 15th anniversary special item along with the famous ticket system, giving almost every person who entered a prize. This included the Chevrolet Cavalier(one per day), pins, stickers, park tickets and of course the visor. The 15th was absolutely epic!
24.5 - Destination: Retro
Season 1 · Episode 20
Tuesday, November 29, 2016 • Duration 46:36
Welcome to Episode 24.5 of the Retro Disney World Podcast: "Destination: Retro" - We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows.
Main Topic - Todd, Brian and JT are back to give you a recap of the Destination: D Trip and some other highlights. We discuss the D23 event, some interesting findings brought to our attention and also talk about the Lake & Lagoon Tour.
The RetroWDW Lake and Lagoon Tour - The tours were a great success! We had seven boats go out over two days and they were filled to the max. The different sights and locations were all discussed in detail and on this episode, we give you a little recap of the different stops. Thank you so much to everyone who was able to join us, we plan to release some audio versions of the tours very soon. This way you can take your own journey on Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon.
Dinner with Tom Nabbe and David Coolidge - We had two very special guests of honor at dinner and afterwards Tom told us monorail stories as we rode the restort beam in search of the elusive missing beams!
ReeseRileyReview - A big RetroWDW Hello to Reese and Riley! We were special guests on Episode #8 of the ReeseRileyReview! - Be sure to follow the girls (@ReRiReview) and listen and watch their shows as they review Disney Resorts and more!
Welcome to Episode 24 of the Retro Disney World Podcast: "The Golf Resort" - We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows.
Comments & Corrections- To start this episode, we discuss some emails regarding the Carousel of Progress. Animatronics, the father figure and lots of detail from the whole group.
Listener Mail - Chad wrote us mentioning he purchased some shirts from us. We also get into Chad's question about the Gold Key Vacations, which Todd has first hand knowledge of. We also got some tweets this month, discussing World Key and which attractions might have scared us. For questions, comments and concerns, please write us - podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
Audio Rewind - Congratulations to our winner from last month, Suzanne Gill, she guessed "Journey Into Imagination". Suzanne won a the brochure and Vacationland package! If you think you know the answer to the audio rewind this month, email us at podcast@retrodisneyworld.com for a chance to win the first Walt Disney World Cookbook: Cooking with Mickey. Send your guesses by November 28, 2016 - All answers will also be entered into the drawing for our next BIG PRIZE, which is a huge prize pot slowly built over the course of 2016.
Prize Pot Items - As you may have heard, our year end prize this year will include a different prize from every month. So far, we have an Orange Bird Yo-Yo from January, a brochure from The World of Motion given away in February, the March prize is a Golf Resort Mickey head logo golf bag tag, an Epcot Center salt and pepper shaker set, a Disney Glass Candy Dish, Tomorrowland Handbook, 1984 Disney News Magazine, The Walt Disney World Explorer CD Rom, expired Discovery Island Tickets, a Frontierland Viewmaster Slide, the WDW Tencenial Coing, a WDW Pocket Protector, and new this month........the RetroWDW Pin Collection! The pot will continue to grow each month with new and exciting prizes! To win the prize pot in December, just answer any audio rewind question each month for one entry.
Main Topic - For this month, we talk Golf. The Golf Resort is one of those early attractions that most people have never heard of. We take you back to the origins of golfing at WDW. Big thanks to George Taylor, Foxxy, and Passport to Dreams; we used some of their expertise to guide this podcast. Brian starts us off by explaining how this resort came to be and from there we head into the Trophy Room for some eats and also delve into room sizes. This little known location, which is gone but not forgotten now, is truly going take you back. We all learned lots during this episode and we hope you do too, enjoy!
23.5 - Dave Perillo at Wonderground Gallery
Season 1 · Episode 18
Wednesday, October 19, 2016 • Duration 30:19
Welcome to a special episode of the Retro Disney World Podcast! We talk to illustrator Dave Perillo in the latest installment of our series of occasional bonus episodes featuring interviews with subjects we think will interest you. Dave is a Philadelphia-based artists whose work has been featured on retro-styled merchandise for Disney with a focus on attraction artwork. He will be appearing this weekend at Disney Springs in the Wonderground Gallery section of the Marketplace Co-Op store. Dave shares stories of his history with Disney parks and how his love of Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride has influenced some of the merchandise you’ve been able to purchase over the years.
Dave’s artwork runs the spectrum of pop culture interests. If there’s a fan community out there for pop culture media there’s a good bet Dave has done some artwork that will be of interest to you. Star Wars, Airplane!, Disney, The Simpsons, classic cartoons and advertising — you name it. Dave’s whimsical artwork and Mary Blair-influenced style is sure to delight and amuse.
Listen to our interview and follow Dave on Twitter and Instagram @montygog
Dave will be at Disney Springs at the Marketplace Co-Op this weekend October 21st and 22nd from 5 PM - 8 PM and on Sunday October 23rd from Noon to 3 PM.
Check back with us very soon for Episode 24 where we take you to The Golf Resort in honor of our old buddy, Arnold Palmer.
Tweet at us, send us a Facebook post or message, tag us on Instagram or email us your thoughts..We hope you have enjoyed this episode! If you have any questions, suggestions or find errors please email us podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
Welcome to Episode 23 of the Retro Disney World Podcast: "Carousel of Progress" - We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows.
Comments & Corrections- We start off learning the origins of the Captain Jack's Restaurant name and then move onto some more information about the Lake Buena Vista toy stores.
Listener Mail - Lincoln writes in asking about Walt Disney biographies, we got a tweet from Senor Peanut with pictures of Pablo Escobar visiting Disney World, How tells us about World Key ending and finally we got a question regarding Walt Disney World mail order. For questions, comments and concerns, please write us - podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
Audio Rewind - Congratulations to our winner from last month, Robert Burke, he guessed "Delta Dreamflight". Robert won a copy of the Progressland Brochure! If you think you know the answer to the audio rewind this month, email us at podcast@retrodisneyworld.com for a chance to win some 20th anniversary brochures and guides. Send your guesses by October 17, 2016 - All answers will also be entered into the drawing for our next BIG PRIZE, which is a huge prize pot slowly built over the course of 2016.
Prize Pot Items - As you may have heard, our year end prize this year will include a different prize from every month. So far, we have an Orange Bird Yo-Yo from January, a brochure from The World of Motion given away in February, the March prize is a Golf Resort Mickey head logo golf bag tag, an Epcot Center salt and pepper shaker set, a Disney Glass Candy Dish, Tomorrowland Handbook, 1984 Disney News Magazine, The Walt Disney World Explorer CD Rom, expired Discovery Island Tickets, a Frontierland Viewmaster Slide and new this month........the WDW Tencenial Coin and....a WDW Pocket Protector! The pot will continue to grow each month with new and exciting prizes! To win the prize pot in December, just answer any audio rewind question each month for one entry.
22.5 - David Coolidge talks Lake Buena Vista
Season 1 · Episode 16
Thursday, September 15, 2016 • Duration 35:03
Welcome to Episode 22.5 of the Retro Disney World Podcast: "David Coolidge talks Lake Buena Vista" - We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows.
We recorded an interview with David Coolidge and due to timing and length, it didn't make it into Episode 22. So we figured we'd release a special Bonus episode of our interview!
David Coolidge (http://www.davidcoolidge.com/) is an American Watercolor Realist and in this episode Todd and How sit with David and discuss how he was one of the first people ever to display his art at Lake Buena Vista. David gives some insight to how his show came to be and what the shopping village and vacations villas were like in the early years including shopping, a giant silver Taj Mahal, water taxis and trombonist Herbie Green!
During our chat, we discover that David did use the original Polynesian waterfall as the subject of one of his paintings and we will announce shortly on how you can get a giclee print!
Welcome to Episode 22 of the Retro Disney World Podcast: "Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village" - We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows.
Comments & Corrections- We get back to the basics this month, focusing on our regular routine. The mystery of RJ McBean is solved and debunked. We also shed some light on what happened to the penny arcade games, how you can play them now and finally how some of them have changed states... Lots of great information during our comments and corrections this month.
Audio Rewind - Congratulations to our winner from last month, Phil Speck, he guessed "Big Rock Candy Mountain". Phil won a copy of Disney U! If you think you know the answer to the audio rewind this month, email us at podcast@retrodisneyworld.com for a chance to win a Progressland Brochure, from Ted Linhart. Send your guesses by September 20, 2016 - All answers will also be entered into the drawing for our next BIG PRIZE, which is a huge prize pot slowly built over the course of 2016.
Prize Pot Items - As you may have heard, our year end prize this year will include a different prize from every month. So far, we have an Orange Bird Yo-Yo from January, a brochure from The World of Motion given away in February, the March prize is a Golf Resort Mickey head logo golf bag tag, an Epcot Center salt and pepper shaker set, a Disney Glass Candy Dish, Tomorrowland Handbook, a copy of '84 Disney News, The Walt Disney World Explorer CD Rom, expired Discovery Island Tickets and new this month........a Frontierland Viewmaster Slide! The pot will continue to grow each month with new and exciting prizes! To win the prize pot in December, just answer any audio rewind question each month for one entry.
Main Topic - For this month, we take you back to the original years of the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village. You will find it absolutely amazing how much has changed, grown and updated since the early days. As a group, we go through the different stories while sharing memories of the different visits we've had. The architecture is discussed along with watercraft and even menswear. Great topic with lots of great history, hope you enjoy!
Prize Pot - Our year end prize is huge! Included are: An Orange Bird Yo-Yo from January, a brochure from The World of Motion given away in February, the March prize is a Golf Resort Mickey head logo golf bag tag, an Epcot Center salt and pepper shaker set, a Disney Glass Candy Dish, Tomorrowland Handbook, 1984 Disney News Magazine, The Walt Disney World Explorer CD Rom, expired Discovery Island Tickets, a Frontierland Viewmaster Slide, the WDW Tencenial Coin, a WDW Pocket Protector, and finally the RetroWDW Pin Collection.
Congratulations go out to Wes Hansen! He was randomly selected from over 600 entries to receive this years big prize! Congratulations Wes!!
More Main Topic - How takes us back to the 20th anniversary! The infamous Castle Balloon was featured during this anniversary. How also got to see Michael Eisner, again... We also hear about 20 things that debuted for the 20th. Great walk down memory lane for this crazy annivesary. Brian discusses the Florida Legislatures Weekend and his amazing intvitation of the fold out Empress Lily. Brian takes us into the 25th, a topic that he has a huge amount of information on. This includes the twoTV Specials, which includes Drew Carey eating a turkey leg. The unbelievable Castle Cake is discussed in great detail. So much mid/late 90s goodness with tons of highlights. If you still have your "Guest of Honor" pin, show your 25th anniversary pride - these things sure do bring back memories. Brian has a favorite shirt from this anniversary, showcasing the two castles. The how-to on this whole castle is super interesting. To round out the 25th, we bring on our buddy Matt to discuss to the road show, The Maigical Memories Tour.
Listener Memories - Keep the calls coming, sharing your memories and giving us feedback. If you would like to call and leave us a message, please dial 978-71-RETRO. Keep the calls coming!
Tweet at us, send us a Facebook post or message, tag us on Instagram or email us your thoughts..We hope you have enjoyed this episode! If you have any questions, suggestions or find errors please email us podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
Listener Memories - Keep the calls coming, sharing your memories and giving us feedback. If you would like to call and leave us a message, please dial 978-71-RETRO. Keep the calls coming!
Check back with us very soon for Episode 25 where we take you to the 25th Anniversary Celebration! Brian is super pumped to tell you all about this entire experience, in honor of our 25th episode.
Tweet at us, send us a Facebook post or message, tag us on Instagram or email us your thoughts..We hope you have enjoyed this episode! If you have any questions, suggestions or find errors please email us podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
The RetroWDW Lake and Lagoon Tour - Much faster than anticipated, the Lake & Lagoon Tour sold out in record time. We are accepting standby reservations, which will basically be a waiting list, in case an opening pops up or if we have the ability to open up another boat tour. Thank you so much for your tour reservations and we are super excited to take this cruise with you all! We will all be around all weekend during Destination D, so please check our social media accounts for postings on where we will be and how you can meet us all.
Listener Memories - Keep the calls coming, sharing your memories and giving us feedback. If you would like to call and leave us a message, please dial 978-71-RETRO. Keep the calls coming!
Check back with us very soon for Episode 25 where we take you to the 25th Anniversary Celebration! Brian is super pumped to tell you all about this entire experience, in honor of our 25th episode.
Tweet at us, send us a Facebook post or message, tag us on Instagram or email us your thoughts..We hope you have enjoyed this episode! If you have any questions, suggestions or find errors please email us podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
Main Topic - For this month, we discuss all things Carousel of Progress. We take you back to the General Electric days and start you off with a bit of history. The journey starts right after Disneyland opens and follows us up to the version we all see today. You are really going to enjoy this main topic filled with sound clips, effects and tons of snipets to remind you of this attraction has changed over the years. We even get our fans in on the show, playing your version of the theme song from your call ins. One of the most classic attractions in Disney Parks history is our main topic this month; enjoy the show!
L’Omelette Superb Avec Jambon
6 eggs
2 tbls butter
1/4 cup milk
6 slices pre-cooked ham
Salt & Pepper
Instructions
Beat eggs in mixing bowl. Season to taste. Add milk to egg mixture.
Dice ham - set aside. Heat butter in skillet, add eggs. Let cook until eggs coat entire pan. Add ham.
With spatula, fold over 1/2 omelette. Let cook approximately three minutes. Remove and serve
RetroWDW Merchandise - The Lake Buena Vista Whatchamacallit merchandise is finally ready! We had a slight delay on the design work, but we are ready to release this to you along with some other extra special items. Be sure to get your shirt, iPhone case, tote bag, pillow or coffee mug: www.retrodisneyworld.com/supportus
The RetroWDW Lake and Lagoon Tour - Much faster than anticipated, the Lake & Lagoon Tour sold out in record time. We are accepting standby reservations, which will basically be a waiting list, in case an opening pops up or if we have the ability to open up another boat tour. Thank you so much for your tour reservations and we are super excited to take this cruise with you all! We will all be around all weekend during Destination D, so please check our social media accounts for postings on where we will be and how you can meet us all.
Listener Memories - Keep the calls coming, sharing your memories and giving us feedback. If you would like to call and leave us a message, please dial 978-71-RETRO. Keep the calls coming!
Check back with us very soon for Episode 24 where we take you to The Golf Resort in honor of our old buddy, Arnold Palmer.
Tweet at us, send us a Facebook post or message, tag us on Instagram or email us your thoughts..We hope you have enjoyed this episode! If you have any questions, suggestions or find errors please email us podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
The RetroWDW Lake and Lagoon Tour - Take your lunch break at Destination D this year and join the RetroWDW Podcast crew for a tour around Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon! Tickets go on sale 9/25/16 at 12:00pm. These will sell out quick, so make sure you don't miss out! Click here for information on the tour and how to purchase tickets.
Listener Memories - Keep the calls coming, sharing your memories and giving us feedback. If you would like to call and leave us a message, please dial 978-71-RETRO. Keep the calls coming!
Check back with us very soon for Episode 23 where we take you back to the Carousel of Progress!
Tweet at us, send us a Facebook post or message, tag us on Instagram or email us your thoughts..We hope you have enjoyed this episode! If you have any questions, suggestions or find errors please email us podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
RetroWDW Merchandise - All new design this month that incorporates the LBV Whatchamacallit! Be sure to get your shirt, iPhone case, tote bag, pillow or coffee mug: www.retrodisneyworld.com/supportus
The RetroWDW Event - Join the RetroWDW Podcast crew for a 1 hour tour of Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon! Take your lunch break at Destination D this year and join the RetroWDW Podcast crew for a tour around Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon! Tickets go on sale 9/25/16 at 12:00pm. These will sell out quick, so make sure you don't miss out! Click here for information on the tour and how to purchase tickets.
Listener Memories - Keep the calls coming, sharing your memories and giving us feedback. If you would like to call and leave us a message, please dial 978-71-RETRO. Keep the calls coming!
Check back with us very soon for Episode 23 where we take you back to the Carousel of Progress!
Tweet at us, send us a Facebook post or message, tag us on Instagram or email us your thoughts..We hope you have enjoyed this episode! If you have any questions, suggestions or find errors please email us podcast@retrodisneyworld.com
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