Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show – Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello, and this is show #315 for the week of March 10, 2013.

With the opening of Disney’s newsiest film release, Oz The Great and powerful, this week we’re going to look at the long, and lost, history of Disney and Oz. Going back to the 1930′s, we’ll look at Walt Disney’s quest to tell the tales of the land of Oz, what almost was, and what never came to be. You’ll hear untold stories from Jim Korkis, including the plot of the movie that was never made. We’ll also discuss Disney’s previous Oz offerings, it’s presence in the Walt Disney World theme parks including the Great Movie Ride. There, we’ll look at how The Wizard of Oz was supposed to be seen in that attraction, and why it never came to be. We’ll finish off with a discussion of the new film, and what the future may hold.
I’ll have the answer to our last Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week, and pose a new challenge for your chance to win a Disney prize package.

Stay tuned for more WDW Radio event and meet information before playing some of your voicemails at the end of the show. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show.

Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in next week!

- Lou Mongello
http://LouMongello.com

Information and Links from This Week’s Show

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Have you seen Oz The Great and Powerful? What did you think? Leave your answer in the comments section below!

• Listen to this week’s episode for the Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week for a chance to win a Disney prize package!
• Disney Meets and WDW Radio Meets of the Month in Walt Disney World – Get dates and locations on our Events page
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• For more videos, subscribe to our WDW Radio channel on YouTube or the show in iTunes
• Get Celebrations Magazine on your iPad/iPhone in iTunes App Store

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND TICKETS!

Listen to the full, UNTOLD story and synopsis of the unmade Disney film, The Rainbow Road to Oz

Purchase your copy of Jim Korkis’ new books in print or on Kindle from Amazon.com (affiliate links):

Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South? And Other Forbidden Disney Stories		The Revised Vault of Walt: Unofficial, Unauthorized, Uncensored Disney Stories Never Told
	xxx
Paperback or Kindle		Paperback or Kindle

The post WDW Radio # 315 – Disney and Oz: History, Stories, Walt, The Great Movie Ride & more! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

by Don Myers

The Springtime thaw is on the horizon, and with it comes news and happenings from the Vacation Kingdom of the World. So let’s get to it, time for the latest edition of the WDW Radio Newswire…..

We begin this edition of the Newswire inside Magic Kingdom, as there’s some exciting news to report on one of the park’s most iconic attractions: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Back in the October 3rd edition of the Newswire, I detailed plans for a series of new interactive elements coming soon to Big Thunder Mountain’s queue. Well, it looks like the residents of the tiny town of Tumbleweed are nearly ready to delve into the interactive era, as several new props have begun to spring up around the mountain. The tarps have all been removed to reveal a series of new elements, including wooden crates, mining equipment, and other large pieces of machinery. In addition, several new signs are now in place throughout the queue to tie these new interactive elements in with the attraction’s existing storyline. The interactive additions are not functional as of the writing of this article, but all indications seem to hint that things may be getting quite “explosive” at the mountain in the very near future! There’s no official word on when the interactive elements will be operational, but with the vast majority of the props now in place it shouldn’t be too long before the preview stages begin.

For more news out of Magic Kingdom, it’s time to shift our focus over to exterior refurbs, as a pair of buildings have recently been covered in decorative tarps. Let’s start things on Main Street USA, where the exterior of the Hall of Champions is now undergoing a cosmetic facelift. Following the hub over to Liberty Square, we also find the exterior of Sleepy Hollow Refreshments under construction. In both cases it’s still business as usual inside, as the two locations will remain open to Guests throughout the duration of the refurbs.

Time to park-hop over to Hollywood Studios now, as there’s a pair of newsbits to address. Let’s begin with The Great Movie Ride, which has just received some new film props inside the queue. Guests waiting in line can now catch a glimpse of the chess table used by R2-D2 and Chewbacca in Star Wars Episode IV, as well as the infamous striped sweater worn by Freddy Kruger in the second installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

For our second Studios newsbit, we make our way over to Animation Courtyard for an update on Disney Junior- Live on Stage. The show has been on hiatus for about a month now, but the attraction is scheduled to resume operations later this week. Cast member previews have already taken place, and the attraction is currently in a state of “Soft Open.” The official re-opening date is set for Friday February 15th, at which time Guests will be able to get a look at the revamped cast of characters which now includes Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins. Unfortunately these additions lead to a few subtractions, as the duo will serve as replacements for the characters Handy Manny and the Little Einsteins.

For our final stop on today’s Newswire, we head out of the parks and venture over to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Major League Baseball is nearly ready to begin its 2013 Spring Training schedule, which means its time once again to welcome in the Atlanta Braves! Champion Stadium has been the Spring Training home field for the Braves since 1998, with the 16th season set to get underway on Friday February 22nd at 1:05 pm against the defending American League Champion Detroit Tigers. Atlanta’s home schedule features 18 games at Wide World of Sports in total, with the Braves taking on rivals such as the New York Mets, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies. Here’s a look at the complete schedule:

Fri Feb 22nd    Detroit Tigers     1:05pm

Sat Feb 23rd    N.Y. Yankees    1:05pm

Mon Feb 25th  Miami Marlins    1:05pm

Tue Feb 26th   Washington       1:05pm

Fri Mar 1st       Washington       6:05pm

Sun Mar 3rd    Detroit Tigers     1:05pm

Thu Mar 7th    Detroit Tigers     6:05pm

Fri Mar 8th  Toronto Blue Jays  1:05pm

Sun Mar 10th  Miami Marlins    1:05pm

Tue Mar 12th     St. Louis         1:05pm

Fri Mar 15th      N.Y. Mets        1:05pm

Sat Mar 16th  N.Y. Yankees     5:05pm

Mon Mar 18th  Philadelphia     1:05pm

Wed Mar 20th   Pittsburgh       1:05pm

Thu Mar 21st   Washington      6:05pm

Sat Mar 23rd  Houston Astros  1:05pm

Mon Mar 25th    N.Y. Mets       1:05pm

Thu Mar 28th  Houston Astros 1:05pm

Well, that’s gonna do it for today’s update. But before we call it a wrap, let’s take a look at the results of our last poll. The question was:

What is your favorite decade at WDW?

. 1970′s

. 1980′s

. 1990′s

. 2000′s

. 2010′s

And the winner is……

The 1990′s with 43% of the total vote! Second place was a tie, as the 2000′s and 2010′s, finished deadlocked at 22%. The 1980′s followed with 11%, and the 1970′s brought up the rear with just 2%. Once again, a big thank you to everyone that took the time to vote! Okay, now it’s time for this week’s question:

The post WDW Radio Newswire: Big Thunder Mountain Nearly Ready To Get “Interactive” And Great Movie Ride POLL appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Welcome to the WDW Radio Show – your Walt Disney World Information Station. This is Show #54 for the week of February 17, 2008.

In this week’s Walt Disney World News, I’ll look at a dining change in World Showcase, updates on the Backlot Theater in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, new special events coming to Pleasure Island, and a very special event that is the first of its kind at Walt Disney World that will offer a truly unique experience in many ways.

For the next in my Legends of Disney Imagineering interview series, I thought that with the recent name change of the Disney-MGM Studios to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and new direction it is taking in its entertainment offerings, I wanted to have someone come on the show who could speak authoritatively as to the genesis and growth of the park. So I decided that who better to come on the show and talk about this than the man who literally put pen to paper and designed the original concept drawing for the Disney-MGM Studios. He is former Walt Disney Imagineering designer; artist; show creator and so much more, Tim Kirk. He will join me to discuss the history of the Studios, his work on helping form not only the original concept for the park, but his work on some of its premier attractions such as the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, The Great Movie Ride, MuppetVision 3D, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and countless others. It is a unique, first-hand look at the creation of the theme park and its signature attractions.

I’ll also have time to answer some more of your emails this week, so sit back, relax and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show.

Expedition Everest Challenge – Official Web Site

Expedition Everest Challenge – Who’s Going? Who’s Running? Want to Meet? Forum at DisneyWorldTrivia.com

Former Disney Imagineer Tim Kirk

Disney World Trivia.com 2009 Page-A-Day Calendar
COMING SOON!

Look for more details coming soon about the
WDW Radio Show Celebrity Mini-Golf Invitational
event to benefit the Dream Team Project!

Did you like this week’s show? If so, please review the show in iTunes!

The post Show #54 – Feb. 17, 2008 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.