Hello, again! This is Dan Mulka, your friendly WDW Radio Hall of Fame Janitor. Thank you to everyone who nominated a ride to be inducted into the WDW Radio Hall of Fame. It’s an exciting time, this will be the first time a new plaque has been added to the Hall of Fame since Walt and Mickey!
This was tough narrowing down the list to five. However, for those of you new to The Hall, you have the task of narrowing this group to one.
Make sure to vote by Saturday, September 22 at 5PM ET. (See below)
Let’s meet the final five. The first two nominees are interesting, because they represented the past and future of rail travel. Nominees three and four made their debut at the World’s Fair before showing up at the Disney Parks. Number five still gives us fond memories despite it no longer being at Walt Disney World, but we can still relive those memories at Disneyland in California.
The Walt Disney World Railroad
The Walt Disney World web site’s description of the railroad puts us right there. “Listen to the clamor of the engine, the chug of the wheels and the call of the whistle.” Walt loved the railroad, and you can find out more about the railroad in WDW Radio Show #395. The Disney Parks video at the bottom of that show’s page is really magic as well.
WDW Monorail
The “public transport of the future” is the only ride nominated that you can actually board outside of the parks. Kendall Foreman of the WDW Radio Blog Team wrote a great article about the history of the Monorail and the Disney Parks, which you can read here. From what I’m aware of, this is the only ride in the Disney Parks whose safety warning inspired a t-shirt It’s also the only ride that goes through a hotel.
“it’s a small world”
Walt Disney’s “it’s a small world” made its debut at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. According to this Time.com article, it’s iconic theme is the most played song in history. It’s been parodied by The Simpsons and Family Guy. This is truly a ride that everyone knows, and one that truly says Walt Disney.
Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress
This ride holds the record for the most stage show performances in American theater. Little did we know, that its 1993 refurbishment was the precursor to the Amazon Echo (just teasing). The Carousel was also at the 1964’s World’s Fair, then initially appeared in Disneyland before being installed in Walt Disney World. You can jump back in history with the Carousel of Progress with WDW Radio Show #244.
Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
Back when I was a little janitor, I remember being scared by the sight of the oncoming train approaching our car! This “Wild Ride” was truly a unique adventure, in fact, two unique adventures (with different show scenes depending on if you loaded on the left or right side.) You can still take the ride in Disneyland, although it’s a different version with some of the gags from Florida being adapted in the 1983 update. (Sorry folks, I couldn’t find a usable Disney World photo of the ride).
Voting Poll
Here’s where the voting takes place. The ride with the highest vote total will be inducted into the WDW Radio Hall of Fame. Make sure to vote by Saturday, September 22 at 5pm ET. We will officially induct the winner next week.
[poll id=”369″]
(Photo Credits: WDW Monorail, it’s a small world, Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – From author’s personal collection; WDW Railroad, Matt Dempsey, Flickr.com, For use under Creative Commons, license; Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Flickr User HarshLight, Flickr.com, For use under Creative Commons, license)
To learn more about Daniel and read his recent posts for WDW Radio, visit his author page by clicking the link on his name at the top of this post.
