We Disney fans like to get as much Disney insider info as we possibly can, whether that’s taking one of the Backstage Magic behind the scenes tours (so excited to hopefully be doing Marceline to Magic Kingdom next year!) or reading up on where the creators have stealthed away Hidden Mickeys in the background of movies.
I’ve been privy to a little more secret Disney information than some as I’ve known a couple of people who’ve worked as Cast Members in Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris and who have told stories of what goes on that the average Disney guest wouldn’t see. For example, when I went to DLP with friends a few years ago, Melissa was just finishing up working there – this meant that her Backstage Pass still gave her entrance to the Cast Member only backstage areas which she pointed out and gave us some sly glimpses of! We’d talked about the possibility of this beforehand and I’d worried that it would spoil the magic for me, seeing that behind the scenes isn’t quite as glamorous as Disney itself, but luckily it didn’t ruin it a single bit for me – in fact, it made it all the more amazing finding out some of the logistics that go into making a Disney park run so smoothly.
For example, did you know that the characters are on a very specific schedule so that they’ll never be in two different areas at any given time? If you’re wondering why, can you imagine how confusing it would be for a person (technically a child, but anyone!) to find that Mickey, who they just saw in the Festival of Fantasy parade in Liberty Square, was signing autographs for one of their friends in the Town Square Theater at the same time? We all know that’s impossible as Mickey can’t be in two places at once, right?
So I wanted to mention another place that I like to go get some more in depth Disney knowledge. I find that a lot of the articles you read tend to have what seem like different claims in the headline (clickbait!) but all the same information inside – we all know about the characters secreted in the crowd in The Little Mermaid (see below) and the Mulan picture in Lilo & Stitch.
One of my Disney-obsessed friends (I have several!) told me a few years ago about the WDW Radio podcast with Lou Mongello, so I started making sure to tune in whenever I could, and I’m definitely a bit addicted to it! I absolutely love the starting jingle with a record scratching followed by:
“W..D..W..Radioooo, your information station”
(Doesn’t “information station” remind you of “Conservation Station” in Animal Kingdom?!)
I also love that in the starting jingle, you’ll often have snippets of Walt speaking or of the voices that come over the speakers at the beginnings of rides, reminding you to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle – if that doesn’t give you good Disney memories, I don’t know what will!
The Lou Mongello WDW Radio Podcasts range from everything from the various foods you can buy around the parks and in the restaurants, to favourite Disney memories, secrets about areas of the parks, fact and fiction stories about Disney and more. There are currently over 460 of these podcasts, so I’m sure you’ll find something to interest you if you’re a Disney fan, and there are plenty that you can get caught up on.
Happy listening!