WDW Radio Show #58 - Mar 16, 2008

Welcome to the WDW Radio Show - your Walt Disney World Information Station. This is show #58 for the week of March 16, 2008. I am your host Lou Mongello, and I want to thank you for tuning in again this week.

I just returned from Disneyland in California, and wanted to not just take a look back at my trip, but wanted it to be informative and interesting for the listener. I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I enjoyed my experience at the parks, and realized that there was so much to discuss and introduce people to, that I invited in my friends, travel companions and frequent WDW Radio Show guests Jeff Pepper, George Taylor and Eric Hollister in for a roundtable discussion simply entitled: Why Every Walt Disney World Fan Needs to Visit Disneyland.

Because of the length of the segment, I’ll save the WDW News and Rumor Mill for next week, as well as your emails, so sit back, relax and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show.

You can email the show at lou@wdwradio.com or call the voicemail at 206-202-4WDW (4939). Visit the web site at wdwradio.com.

Be sure to view this week's complete show notes page.

You can email the show at lou@wdwradio.com or call the voicemail at 206-202-4WDW

Yay! I LOVE long shows!!! Just in time for my roadtrip to the nether reaches of Iowa tomorrow. Thanx Lou!

Downloading right now, but I'm very excited since I live in California and Disneyland is the park I call home.

I am excited about it too, mainly because I am now in Arizona(originally from NY). I am in the middle of listening to it and I am enjoying it.

I have just started listening to this week's show, and on it they keep saying that the Fantasyland rides and Roger Rabbit ride is a "dark" ride? Am I hearing that right?
If so, what does that mean?

Thanks! :)

This is a show, I've been waiting for, for a looonggg time! I am such a Disneyland fan. I am so happy to hear about it from people whose opinions I value so much and to know you liked it... makes me very happy! :yes:

I can totally relate to that feeling of being lost yet in somewhat familiar territory all at the same time. On our early magic hour morning, my daughter and I wanted to ride Peter Pan's Flight first! We blew through the castle, walked right past PPF and started immediately circling around to our left (ala Walt Disney World). When I got the Frontierland entrance, it dawned on me. DUH, you are not in WDW!! I asked a castmember, where's Peter Pan?? I had walked right by it! :lol:

And Lou, I also didn't "feel it" until I hit Main Street either. It was like being "consumed" because the outside world disappears!

I can definitely say that I had an absolute blast during our trip to Disneyland. Like Jeff had mentioned during our discussion, you have to look at Disneyland as an extension of the experience that you go through when you vacation at Walt Disney World. To attempt to simply compare and contrast the two resorts wouldn't be fair, as they both bring their own sense of "unique-ness" to the table.

For anyone out there who has not had a chance to visit Disneyland, and may be sitting on the fence as to whether or not they should go, I will firmly stand behind our discussion and say that you have to do it at least once. It is an experience that is completely different from its younger sibling in Orlando, and one that I hope to attempt to visit at least once per year from here on out.

And in case it wasn't blatantly obvious....The Indiana Jones Adventure was awesome!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jabbles

I have just started listening to this week's show, and on it they keep saying that the Fantasyland rides and Roger Rabbit ride is a "dark" ride? Am I hearing that right?
If so, what does that mean?

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A dark ride is an indoor ride. The name can be misleading, since a dark ride does not have to be dark. (It's a Small World is an example of a brightly-lit dark ride.) However, most use special lighting to achieve theatrical effects. Selective use of darkness is advantageous because it helps hide the mechanisms of the ride and because it can increase the visual drama of the experience.

Hehe, Lou walked on Pooh :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GeoMouse

For anyone out there who has not had a chance to visit Disneyland, and may be sitting on the fence as to whether or not they should go, I will firmly stand behind our discussion and say that you have to do it at least once. It is an experience that is completely different from its younger sibling in Orlando, and one that I hope to attempt to visit at least once per year from here on out.

And in case it wasn't blatantly obvious....The Indiana Jones Adventure was awesome!

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You know what, I'm going to try to make that attempt too!

I was also glad you all noticed that not every ride dumped into a retail store. As a Mom with a daughter with eyes bigger than my pocketbook, it really took the "commercialism" out of the park. Certainly, we stopped off and bought souveniers before leaving on our last day, but at least I wasn't hit with a "Mom, can I have" after each and every ride. This does happen quite often in WDW, but did not happen nearly as often in Disneyland. That made it feel like a very genuine Disney experience! Don't get me wrong, I love WDW, but there are aspects of DL that they should take a hint from.

I haven't finished the podcast yet, but I'm really enjoying it. I haven't been to DL for 30+ years. (Yes, I see a road trip in my future and I'm taking my dd this time.) I'm starting to think that DLP is a combo of DL and WDW. I'm going to be busy taking notes next weekend when we visit DLP for our second, and probably final, visit.

I have an aversion to anything or anywhere West of the Rockies AND I firmly believe that the second I step foot on California soil, the Big One will hit and CA will slide off North America and float away.

However, this podcast has convinced me that if I do ever find myself in SoCal with the time to see the original park, I will take advantage of that opportunity.

Great show guys!:thumbs:



Oh yeah---Lou said Pooh heh heh heh!:grin:

I hope you cleaned your shoes after walking on Pooh!

Great show- now I need to go to DL. Want to join me?

Still got 30min to go but I am loving it. So glad to hear how much you enjoyed DL. I'm an Annual Passholder here, and you guys were spot on about the different attitude. WDW is our vacation destination, but Disneyland is our comfy home. When we see Goofy, we wave to him and my wife will give love to the characters if she sees them alone, but they're part of our community and we know they will always be around for us.

That being said it would be great to see more in some different places. Up until this year Woody and Jessie were regulars at Frontierland. Another place not mentioned was at the end of Main St., near the hub, Mary Poppins and Bert would often be out with a couple of penguins. In the afternoon, Alice and the Mad Hatter join them by the piano.

Also Buzz Lightyear (like at WDW) frequently appears at Tomorrowland. And Pooh Characters have a spot in Critter Country. (Try not to step on them.)

I've been reading the comments, fearing that some WDW loyalist would take offense to how often Lou would say we do it better at DL. (Believe me, it's more of a tie.) So glad you're all so understanding.

p.s. Next time you're coming out here, Lou...how about a little heads up? We'd have loved to do a quick and unobtrusive meet and greet.

I too just visited Disneyland in February for the first time. I think all of your insights are great and they are very similar to mine. It was a great experience, and I look forward to taking my family there once CA Adventure is finished being updated.

Hopefully, I'll run into some of you at Magicmeets to talk in more detail.

Lou, I'm going to chuckle now every time I step....I mean ride Pooh....

We so need the Indiana Jones Adventure in Florida.