Welcome to the WDW Radio Show, your Walt Disney World Information Station. This is Show #27 for the week of August 12, 2007.

To our new listeners, welcome to the show. If this is your first time listening, let me just tell you briefly a little bit about the show. This is a completely family-friendly podcast that focuses on WDW, from our coverage of news and rumors, to trivia, history, vacation planning, reviews, interviews, contests, and a wide variety of other segments presented to you with the help of a number of special guests each week. There’s something for everyone, and each show offers something different, so I invite you to visit the web site at WDWradio.com or iTunes, and download some of our older episodes. And since this show is FOR you, I want it to be interactive and want you to be involved as much as you would like. You can send me suggestions, comments, questions or even a segment idea, and who knows, maybe you can join me on the air if you like!

OK, on to this week’s show – Let’s start off as always with News and Views from Walt Disney World, including of course the big change coming to the Studios. Our visit to the Walt Disney World Rumor Mill will include some possible extra extra magic hours and an old favorite in Epcot possibly reopening later this year.

I am also going to introduce the first in a recurring series entitled, Legends of Disney Imagineering. My first guest certainly qualifies to bear that title and introduction. He is George McGinnis, who played a large part in the creation of the Mark VI monorail, Space Mountain, Horizons, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and countless other attractions and vehicles in Walt Disney World. In this exclusive, one-on-one interview, Mr. McGinnis shares stories of being personally hired by Walt Disney, the triumphs and challenges in creating such attractions as the WEDWay PeopleMover, Space Mountain, Communicore and countless others. He reminisces about working with not only Walt Disney, but a who’s who of Disney legends, including Dick Nunis, Marty Sklar, John Hench, Bob Gurr, Roger Broggie, Claude Coates, and so many others. It is truly something special that I think you’re going to enjoy and was a personal privilege for me to do. And listen very carefully, as he also shares a secret about a change that is likely coming soon to one of his Walt Disney World attractions

Jana Smith from the Let’s talk About Disney Podcast joins me for another, unique take on the Hidden Treasures of Walt Disney World

I will answer a few more of your emails and play some of your voicemails, so sit back, relax and I hope you enjoy this week’s episode of The WDW Radio Show.

Join Lou Mongello, author of the Walt Disney World Trivia Books for a book signing and discussion IN Walt Disney World!

I am pleased to announce that my next book signing will be at the Virgin Megastore in Downtown Disney’s West Side on Saturday, August 25th, 2007 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

If you are going to be in the area, please join me in the heart of Walt Disney World’s exciting Downtown Disney Shopping and Entertainment District at the largest music and entertainment store in the southeast. Its three floors include more than 300 listening stations and over 20 DVD viewing stations, a 10,000 sq. foot book department, multimedia preview center, café, and so much more!

No theme park or Pleasure Island admission is required

The store is located in Walt Disney World’s DOWNTOWN DISNEY – West Side, across from the Wolfgang Puck Café and Bongo’s Cuban Café, and right next to Disney Quest, on 1494 Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. You can call the store directly at (407) 828-0222.

I am VERY excited about this event and hope you can come by and say hi!!

Listen to our detailed look at Horizons as part of our EPCOT Retrospective series in Show 12- April 29, 2007

Walt Disney World Acronyms

Old Imageworks Reopening? – Disney World Trivia .com Forums

Thanks to Jana Smith from Let’s Talk About Disney

Walt Disney World’s annual International Food & Wine Festival “Eat to the Beat” concerts tentative schedule for 2007:

Sept. 28–29: Al Stewart

Sept. 30–Oct. 1: Otis Day and the Knights

Oct. 2–3: The Beach Boys

Oct. 4–6: The Original Family Stone

Oct. 7–9: Sheena Easton

Oct. 10–13: Starship featuring Mickey Thomas

Oct. 14–16: David Cassidy

Oct. 17–18: Little Richard

Oct. 19–21: Juice Newton

Oct. 22–25: The Four Tops

Oct. 26–27: The Village People

Oct. 28–30: The Outlaws

Oct. 31–Nov. 3: Jon Secada

Nov. 4–6: Chubby Checker & The Wildcats

Nov. 7–8: The Contours featuring Sylvester Potts

Nov. 9–11: David Sanborn

Gingerbread House at the Grand Floridian

Structure Composition:

16 feet high

17 feet wide

1,000 board feet of trim

60 sheets of plywood

40 window panes

80 square feet of retail space

100 square feet of display

10,000 pieces of gingerbread used

Gingerbread Ingredients:

1,050 lbs. honey

600 lbs. powdered sugar

35 lbs. spices

800 lbs. flour

140 pints egg whites

180 lbs. apricot glaze

Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon Challenge Contest

This is the next of our 13-part WDW ½ Marathon Challenge, where you get to play a new challenge every two weeks for chance to win all kinds of great prizes, as well as get to name the respective mile marker during the WDW ½ marathon in January. Winners will also get a custom certificate suitable for framing to congratulate you for your efforts. Also as part of the contest, Eric, owner of GeoMouse.com is generously donating $100 per mile to the DisneyWorldTrivia.com Dream Team project to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. At the end of the contest, we will have a drawing for a yet-to-be announced grand prize!

Stay tuned for the launch of Eric Hollister’s new GeoMouse.com web site coming soon!

Listen to LAST week’s show for the clues! Good luck

The post Show #27 – Aug. 12, 2007 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Welcome back to The WDW Radio Show – Your Walt Disney World information Station. Thanks for tuning in once again. This is Show #9 for the week of April 8, 2007.

Lou’s very special guest Michael Broggie gives an exclusive interview and recounts wonderful stories of growing up around Walt Disney, as well as his father Roger Broggie, who was the very first Disney Imagineer. He also shares Walt’s “secrets to success”, tales of Roy Disney, and Walt’s interactions with his Imagineers. Lou and Michael also talk about the extinct Fort Wilderness Railroad, including Michael’s work and preservation efforts for its engines and cars. They also discuss the future of the Disney Company led by Bob Iger and John Lasseter, and so much more! Jeff Pepper continues with the railroad theme as he looks at the secrets and stories behind the train bulletins at the Main Street, USA Railroad Station. Lou answers more of your emails, and reports on Walt Disney World News and Views, and Mike Scopa comes on to talk about another Best of the Best at Walt Disney World. 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 our voicemail at 206-202-4WDW.

Talk about the show by visiting and posting in the
WDW Radio Show message forums at DisneyWorldTrivia.com.

Interview with Michael Broggie

Pick up a copy of Michael’s wonderful book – “Walt Disney’s Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom”- highly recommended!

Visit the Carolwood Pacific web site

Be sure to visit the Iron Spike Room at the Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Read the Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros Review and “Trip Report” at DisneyWorldTrivia.com and post your comments and reviews there as well!

IllumiNations Cruises will be available for the 11:30pm shows on 4/5, 4/10, 4/12, 4/20 and 4/27 Currently, you cannot call WDW-PLAY to book these cruises, they MUST be booked the day of the cruise at Bayside Marina. It is unclear at this time as to whether Disney will allow telephone calls to the marina to make reservations. More information to follow as it becomes available.

Cruise with Lou Mongello and Margaret Kerry (yes, the same Tinker Bell that you just saw on your new Peter Pan Special Edition DVD) on the Disney Magic! Join us for special events, Pirate costume contests, tons of free giveaways, private dining, extra fun things to do Castaway Cay, treasure hunts, trivia games, live podcasting from the ship, where you can help be a part of the show, charity fundraising events to benefit the DWT Dream Team and the Starlight Children’s Foundation, and so much more! Everyone who books as part of our group will get special pixie-dusted items in cabins.

One of the things I’m happy to finally be able to announce is that at many of these events, you can participate and earn KEYS, end of cruise, one of your keys could open a huge treasure chest filled with incredible Disney Surprises and Merchandise!

There will be LOTS of things we have planned just for kids, too, including a special treat from Captain Jack Sparrow, treasure hunts, and more!

Everyone who books by June 1, 2007 will receive a very unique surprise before the cruise. During a wonderful, private event we have planned as we set sail, we will have a very special, very fun-filled drawing at a private event where one person will win a $500 Disney Gift Card that you can use on board! Of course, if you have already booked on the cruise, you will also receive the surprise and be eligible to win, so no worries!

For more information and a free, no-obligation quote
visit the Cruise information page

Check out Jeff Pepper’s blog at 2719Hyperion.blogspot.com
and be sure to check out his NEW store for great, exclusive logo merchandise!!!

Walt Disney World Travel Tip

Disney pins aren’t the only collector’s item at Walt Disney World Resort! Disney Transportation Collector Cards are becoming popular among younger guests as well. The 18 cards highlight the three modes of transportation on Walt Disney World Resort property – watercraft, monorail and bus – and are distributed by transportation Cast Members. Oh yeah… they’re FREE!!

The cards were introduced in June 2006 as another way for Cast Members to interact with Guests. Since the program’s debut, more than 200,000 cards have been distributed.

The official Walt Disney World Resort – International Food and Wine Festival web site

Sharon Disney’s Window on Main Street USA – Located near the Watch Shop

We invite you if you dare to join us on October 27, 2007 for a running event that lies beyond the fifth dimension, beyond the deepest darkest corner of the imagination. Disney Sports is pleased to introduce The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ 13K, which is the first night race in the Endurance Series at WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort. This race is a part of the celebration of the 13th Anniversary of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ attraction.

On a night like this, long ago, a young movie actress named Shirley Malone and her husband checked into the Hollywood Tower Hotel. They laced up their shoes and went on a 13K run, knowing little of the nightmare into which their path would lead. For Shirley and her husband disappeared that night into a land of both shadows and substance, of things and ideas. The jogging trails of yesteryear are opening again, but this time they are opening for you. In this act, you are the star. What will be your fate as you brave the same path that led Shirley and her husband directly into, The Twilight Zone®.

ENTRY FEES – Entry Fees for this event include a post-event party which will last from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. The party will include a live band. The following attractions will be open for the party: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terrorâ„¢, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaste® starring Aerosmith, and The Great Movie Ride.

13K: $65.00 / 6.5K: $40.00
Additional Post-Event Party Tickets: $25.00

Registration Fees Include: Glow in the dark race shirts, Access to the post-event party

All finishers will receive Commemorative The Twilight Zone Tower of Terrorâ„¢ 6.5 K and 13K Finisher Medal

COURSE DESCRIPTION – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terrorâ„¢ 13K is an 8.1 mile night-time road race that will begin and end in the shadows of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios. The course will also feature Disney’s Wide World of Sports® Complex, before returning to Disney-MGM Studios where the course will feature the Lights, Motors, Actionâ„¢ Extreme Stunt Show and then down New York Street, past the Sorcerer’s Hat, to an unforgettable finish at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terrore. The 6.5K only scares you half way and back.

For more information, visit Disney’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 13K event information page

Are you going to be running/cheering at the Walt Disney World Marathon/Half-Marathon in 2008? If so, let us know you’re coming, and we’ll try and arrange a meet! Visit the forums at DisneyWorldTrivia.com and add your name to the list!

More information from Jeffrey about the Disney Imagineering Labs at Innoventions:

Hi Lou I enjoyed your PodCast that covered the history of the 3D films at Walt Disney World. Your mention of the Agrabah rendering and DisneyQuest would have been the perfect seugway into mentioning the DisneyVision / Imagineering lab that was at EPCOT in 1994…unfortunately, no mention of this brief, but very unique attraction.

A bit of history on the lab: (Geeking-out a bit here!)

The DisneyVision Lab was joint venture between Disney Imagineering and Silicon Graphics Computer Systems (AKA: SGI). Disney used the lab to develop their VR app for DisneyQuest and SGI used the opportunity to write extensions to their IRIS Performer package and gather data for the next generation of graphics hardware. The SGI graphics hardware used a custom board called “Tri-clops”…as far as I know SGI only produced 5 of them. The Tri-clops board allowed the output of the three graphics pipes in the SGI Onyx systems to be summed into one full rez HDTV (keep in mind this was 1994!), stereo (120Hz) display. Due to the rez, pixel depth and refresh rate of the HMD (Head Mounted Display), motion sickness was a problem and barrels were added to show for to accommodate sick guests. Also, the temperature of the lab was kept quite low to help minimumize the effects the motion had on guests…a practice that is still used today in DisneyQuest…well, the barrels are not in use, but the temp is quite chilly. Disney and SGI displayed DisneyVision at the 1994 Siggraph show in Orlando.

The current VR attraction @ DisneyQuest is (as 07/98) is MUCH lower quality than that of the EPCOT lab. Where EPCOT was running one SGI Onyx with three graphics pipes summed into one pod, the DisneyQuest attraction has one Onyx2 with one graphics pipe running 4 pods. The DQ attraction removed the Mickey Mouse hands from the edge of the magic carpet…sad to see that touch did not make it into the attraction.

Thanks again to Jeffrey Speegle for the information and photos!

Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings – For more information on Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings, contact 321/939-4623, or visit disneyweddings.com

The post Show #9 – Apr. 8, 2007 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.