We are down a man this month, as How has been working on rebuilding his house and dealing with hurricane fallout. We begin this episode with a special message from How and we hope he will be back for Episode 94. This episode focuses on Birnbaum’s guides, which still exist to this day. Join us as we embark on a nostalgic journey, exploring how these iconic travel guides shaped the way fans experienced Disney parks from the 70s to the 90s. We’ll discuss some unique aspects, behind-the-scenes...

Some quick information on how you can help the How Bowers Family after hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Join us in this captivating episode of the RetroWDW Podcast as we explore the rich history of the Japan Pavilion at EPCOT. From its stunning architecture to the immersive cultural experiences it offers, we delve into the origins and evolution of this beloved destination. Discover how the pavilion has celebrated Japanese traditions, cuisine, and artistry over the years, while also examining its significance within the broader context of EPCOT’s mission to promote international understanding....

For our main topic this month, we decided to dig into the always-present and always-sought-after contest connecting to Walt Disney World. If we all think back, I am sure you all have seen, heard of, or attempted to win some sort of contest either at Walt Disney World or at home trying to win a trip to WDW. JT takes the lead on this one and begins with the group telling us about a contest they have each won, in one form or another. To follow this up, we reached out to listeners and fans to see...

Brian takes this lead for this episode and we are super excited to get into all of the areas where computers innovated and impacted the first couple decades at Walt Disney World. After awhile, computers became common all over, but through the 70s & 80s, these innovative pieces of tech helped WDW in many ways. We start off with some pre-opening documentation, which is on DisneyDocs. RCA had a huge plan for the communication system of the entire property, so be sure to dig into this doc, it...

Welcome back to another episode and this time, we have a special guest for this ‘half episode’, Foxx Nolte. Foxx has been in the Disney community for years and has been a trailblazer in all things Disney history. For this episode, we are excited to have the ‘Queen of Lake Buena Vista’ joining us to talk all about her latest book, Hidden History of Walt Disney World. This book is filled with a treasure trove of tales and stories curated by Foxx, which were hand-picked and organized in an...

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,...

For Episode 88, we are ready to Ride the Movies! Universal Studios in the late 80s brought their A-Game to central Florida and Back to the Future: The Ride was one of their top attractions.  For this episode, we solely focus on Back to the Future and go from start to finish, from development to closing. How is our lead this month and for all of us having experienced this, the movie quotes are plentiful and the ride experiences come from all directions.We initially get into why this ride came...

This mini-episode is a compliment to our 2022 holiday episode.  We promised we'd eventually track down the fellow responsible for bringing the Lights of Winter to EPCOT Center.  Brian and Todd talk to Jim Heffelfinger whose 20 year career with Walt Disney World began as stage manager at the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review at Pioneer Hall (where he met and shares a great story about our friend Billy Flanigan). Over the next two decades he worked with Disney Legend Ron Logan and the rest of the...

Welcome to Episode 87 of the RetroWDW Podcast: Hungry For Hollywood - We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows from over the years. We have visited multiple parks, resorts, and just about everything else in between. Listener Mail We open the mailbag monthly and are ready to hear from you. Be sure to reach out with questions, stories, memories, and more. You never know if your letter will be read on a...

We take you back to an attraction and for our fans that wanted us to go way back, we are going way back. The Mickey Mouse Revue which opened October 1, 1971 last about nine years closing in the fall of 1980. How is leading us this month which only means one thing: we are going super deep into this topic. He begins by going over the homophone of Revue vs. Review and also how little is out there on the Mickey Mouse Revue. This attraction was located where the current Mickey’s PhilharMagic is...

So our last episode, Episode 84: Disney Vacation Club, we dug into the history of the vacation club and the original resort. Throughout this episode, we were able to discuss our personal experiences with DVC and also our opinions. While going over all of the details in Episode 84, we asked for your feedback and your own opinions on DVC. You as the listeners did not disappoint! We had an amazing response and received tons of great messages. Throughout episode 84.5, we dig into all of these...

For episode 83.5, we have a special guest joining us and we are so excited. Tammy Tuckey who has joined us in the past for numerous events and happenings is on the show to discuss her new album, Glowing in Timeless Places. Tammy joins us for this episode to do our usual discussions and also catch up with what she’s been working on since RetroMagic 50. Her new Album, Glowing in Timeless Places was recently released and features 11 amazing songs from Walt Disney World. What is great about this...

For our main topic, we take you back to the late 80s and early 90s and get into the history of the Disney Vacation Club. We all know what the vacation club is nowadays, but how did it start, and why? In this era of Walt Disney World, things were much different, and the concept of a timeshare at Disney World seemed impossible. Disney decided to change this and tackled the concept of taking ownership in their properties. The Disney Vacation Club Resort was the original, changing names to Old...

In this episode, we go back to the mid-1980s when Michael Eisner decided to bring The Chautauqua Institution’s blend of enrichment, entertainment, and fun back to Florida with a “uniquely Disney” touch. Originally conceived to be part of Celebration, The Disney Institute opened in February of 1996, offering “Discovery Vacations” where guests could choose from a variety of classes on the topics of Culinary Arts, Design Arts, Entertainment Arts, Environment, Lifestyles, Story Arts, and Sport...

Welcome to another episode of the RetroWDW Podcast. We have quite a few things in the works, but we felt it was best to put those aside and focus on a Disney Legend who recently passed, Rolly Crump. If you remember back to 2019, the crew from The Lake Buena Vista Historical Society made the journey to California to meet with Rolly. What was initially planned as a quick Q&A, turned into a multi-hour interview with a film crew to properly document this influential imagineer. For this...

We are heading back into the golden dome which is known as Wonders of Life. Over the months, we have taken you through many different episodes all about Wonders of Life including: Body Wars/Making of Me, the pavilion and sponsorship, the original concept, and finally the heated debate on the Magic Kingdom toll plaza sign. As we continue into this amazing pavilion, this episode we decided to take a deep dive into the classic show, Cranium Command. We could not have done this episode or...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, and the RetroWDW crew is here with another festive holiday episode. Brian takes up back to the Walt Disney World in the early 1990s when the seasonal festivities shifted their focus from the Magic Kingdom to EPCOT Center. He tells us about Epcot’s much beloved “Lights of Winter” musical light show and its European origins, as well as other early holiday offerings at the park. Then we make a stop at each of the monorail resorts and finally the...

Welcome to Episode 79: Wonders of Life Part III, which focuses on Body Wars & Making of Me. We continue on this epic journey through the golden dome and we have even more for you throughout this episode. Our entire crew is here to take us through these attractions, but also joining us is Dr. Bill who was one of our top donors to the historical society. He will be sitting in on this episode and also giving us some real-world experience when it comes to the human body and Wonders of...

This is a great episode How has in store for you all this month, filled with busted myths, detailed descriptions, and so much more. The Wonders of Life Pavilion was originally developed back in the 70s and if you didn’t catch the earlier episode, take some time to listen back by clicking here. We are going to step foot into the infamous golden dome, which if you poll people nowadays, odds are most have never seen these attractions or taken a ride on the Wondercycles. This 100,000-square-foot...

Our main topic this month is all about Wonders of Life. With this being Part I, we are just going to scratch the surface about all this pavilion and attraction had to offer. This pavilion is actually still around, the golden dome that is next to Mission: Space, Guardians of the Galaxy, and it also served as a festival center from time to time over the years. How is leading us here in our journey through Wonder of Life, starting us off in 1976. How actually reads to us some of the original...

This month, we take you through the glorious two-hour special that is The Walt Disney World Fourth of July Spectacular from 1988. This is a commentary on the entire special, which is on YouTube currently on many different channels. Here is the link we used: Click Here. As we go through this discussion, we look at each section, analyzing how things have changed and also how the special seems just a bit off. The entire show is filled with celebrity appearances, song and dance numbers,...

On this episode, we are joined by Disney entertainer Ray DeForest. Ray spent many years in Walt Disney World entertainment and has a large number of stories and tales we are so excited to hear.  Throughout this episode, we discuss how Ray got his start with the Walt Disney Company in Washington, DC, and then how he made his way to central Florida. As you will learn, Ray was a pioneer in WDW entertainment, working in everything from characters, dancing, performing in the two theme parks, and...