Podcast
WDW Radio: Your Guide to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise and More Disney Magic!
WDW Radio is the award-winning Disney podcast that brings the magic of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Marvel, and Star Wars to life. Since 2005, hosted by Lou Mongello – Disney expert, author, speaker, and Podcast Hall of Fame inductee – has been your trusted guide through the parks and beyond.
Each week, tune in for Disney news, vacation planning tips, interviews, trivia, deep dives into Disney history, attraction and dining reviews, hidden park secrets, and more. From first-timer visitors to lifelong fans, this family-friendly podcast shares the tips, stories, secrets, and insights to help you plan smarter, experience more, and feel the magic like never before.
Voted Best Travel Podcast 9 years in a row, WDW Radio also features a blog, videos, live shows, community meetups, group cruises, and special Disney fan events around the world.
WDW Radio has welcomed legendary guests including Julie Andrews, Tony Baxter, Marty Sklar, Alan Menken, Richard Sherman, Paige O’Hara, Jodi Benson, Kevin Feige, Ashley Eckstein, and countless Imagineers, Cast Members, actors, producers, and creators who bring Disney magic to life.
Explore Lou’s books (Walt Disney World Trivia, The Disney Interviews, 102 Ways to Save Money For and At Walt Disney World) and virtual Audio Tours at WDWRadio.com.
Lou is also the founder of the Dream Team Project, which has raised more than $550,000 to grant wishes for children to visit Walt Disney World through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Start listening now to discover the stories, secrets, and magic that make the Disney Parks, Cruise Line, Marvel, and Star Wars truly unforgettable.
🎙️ Learn more at WDWRadio.com
✨ Lou Mongello is an acclaimed keynote speaker and founder of Momentum – a transformative platform of events, coaching, courses, content, and community. He provides creators and entrepreneurs with practical guidance and inspiration to help turn passion into profession, build an audience with purpose, and grow a meaningful, sustainable business.
As a speaker, Lou shares powerful business and leadership lessons from the Disney Parks and Walt Disney himself, helping organizations improve storytelling, customer experience, company culture, and innovation through unforgettable, actionable presentations.
🔗 Discover more at LouMongello.com
- Places & Travel chart
- #25
- Episodes
- 1,059
- Releases
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 1 hr 8 min
- On air since
- 2007
- Latest episode
- 1 week ago
Episodes
1,059 episodes, newest first
-
41 min
885 · The Scary Side of Disney: The Secret Reason We Love Being Scared
Show notes
885 · The Scary Side of Disney: The Secret Reason We Love Being Scared
What if I told you that fear has always been part of Disney magic?
From the terrifying transformation of the Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Chernabog towering over Bald Mountain, the Haunted Mansion's stretching room, and the darkness of Alien Encounter, Disney has been frightening audiences for nearly a century. And I think there's a fascinating reason why we keep coming back for more.
This week, I'm going solo for Halloween to explore the surprisingly scary side of Disney storytelling, and how some of our most frightening memories have become some of our favorites.
We'll travel from Disney's earliest animated shorts into the parks, revisiting attractions that terrified us, experiences we still love, and a few that Disney may have taken just a little too far.
Along the way, we'll explore:
• Why some of Disney's earliest animated films were genuinely frightening
• The surprising history of Snow White's Scary Adventures and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride
• What makes the Haunted Mansion's stretching room so effective
• Why Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, and Alien Encounter frighten us in very different ways
• How Disney uses fear, suspense, humor, and storytelling to create lasting memories
• What parents should consider before taking younger children on potentially frightening attractions
• Why the upcoming Villains Land may be the next chapter in this long traditionAnd I have a few personal memories to share, including some Disney moments that scared me growing up.
What was the first Disney movie or attraction that genuinely scared you, and how do you feel about it today?
Come share your story in the WDW Radio Clubhouse at https://WDWRadio.com/Clubhouse, or call my voicemail at 407-900-9391. I'd love to hear it, and maybe share it on a future episode!
More Spooky, Scary, and Haunted Disney Episodes from WDW Radio
• #38: Top Ten Spookiest Moments in Walt Disney World (2007) - Lou Mongello and Tim Foster explore the spookiest moments in Walt Disney World, plus a discussion of the Headless Horseman and his connection to Disney animation.
• #90: Top Ten Things We Love About the Haunted Mansion (2008) - Lou and Tim Foster discuss their favorite details, moments, stories, and elements that make the Haunted Mansion so special.
• #246: Top Ten Spooky Places in Walt Disney World (2011) - Lou explores creepy locations and attractions, including the Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and Alien Encounter.
• #363: DSI: Disney Scene Investigation of ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter (2014) - Lou takes a deep dive into the terrifying attraction’s history, Imagineering, effects, storytelling, changes, and eventual closure.
• #492: Disney’s Haunted Mansion: History, Secrets and Stories (2017) - Lou and Jeff Baham explore the attraction’s origins, Imagineers, early concepts, development, and secrets.
• #593: Top Ten Disney Villains (2020) - Lou explores what makes Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars villains so compelling, including their motivations, psychology, character arcs, and storytelling.
• #606: The History of Halloween in the Disney Parks (2020) - Lou and Disney historian Jim Korkis examine Disney’s Halloween traditions, their origins, and their evolution across the parks worldwide.
• #739: Top Ten Places We’d Love to Sleep Overnight in Walt Disney World (2023) - Lou explores unusual places to spend the night in Walt Disney World, including locations with potentially spooky surroundings.
• #748: Top Ten Spooky Spots in Walt Disney World (2023) - An archival rerelease of Episode #246, featuring the Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, and other spooky spots.
• #749: History of Halloween in the Disney Parks (2023) - An archival rerelease of Lou’s conversation with Jim Korkis in Episode #606, including Ray Bradbury’s Halloween Tree, early Disneyland traditions, and Halloween celebrations worldwide.
• #753: Secrets, Stories, and History of the Haunted Mansion (2023) - An archival revisit of Lou’s extensive conversation with Jeff Baham in Episode #492, exploring Haunted Mansion history, Imagineering, and hidden details.
• #799: 10 Things You Never Knew About the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (2024) - Lou and Kendall Foreman explore the attraction’s history, eerie atmosphere, backstory, Imagineering, psychological suspense, and hidden details.
• #805: My Five Scariest Disney Animated Movie Moments (2024) - Lou explores frightening Disney movie moments, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, The Black Cauldron, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Brave Little Toaster.
• #819: Designing Disney with Former Imagineer Jason Surrell (2025) - Lou talks with former Imagineer Jason Surrell about Disney attraction design and storytelling, drawing on his experience and connection to Haunted Mansion history.
• #844: 5 Spooky Disney Halloween Ideas for Walt Disney World (2025) - Lou imagines original Halloween experiences, including a haunted railroad, a spooky Carousel of Progress, an eerie it’s a small world, and the Museum of the Weird.
• #874: The Walt Disney World Time Capsule (2026) - Lou and Kendall Foreman discuss the Haunted Mansion’s enduring significance, technology, and Imagineering legacy. -
1 hr 58 min
883 · Disney Believe: A New Ship, a Familiar Feeling
Show notes
883 · Disney Believe: A New Ship, a Familiar Feeling
What would make you choose the Disney Believe for your next cruise? A brand-new Encanto stage show, an evening in the Haunted Mansion Parlor, or the chance to share a favorite Disney experience with someone who has never seen it?
This week, we explore Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, from its biggest announcements to the smaller details that might become your favorite part of the vacation. We were together aboard the Disney Wish for Disney’s special reveal event, following clues, comparing wildly optimistic predictions, and bringing our communities along for the fun.
We talk about the Moana-inspired Grand Hall, the first Encanto stage adaptation, updated Tangled entertainment, Zootopia’s Gazelle, and new lounges inspired by Ariel, Snow White, and the night sky. There’s also Oaken’s Table, Big Hero Sips, new stateroom designs, and a conversation about why familiar favorites can mean something different depending on who’s sailing.
Along the way, I share the dinner moment that changed how I felt about another Frozen experience. We also consider the personalities of the Wish-class ships, the appeal of four- and five-night sailings, and how we can experience the Believe together.
Which Disney Believe experience would you head to first? Come share your answer in the WDW Radio Clubhouse at http://WDWRadio.com/Clubhouse.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
1 hr 4 min
883 · Disney In or Out? Do We Agree on Disney Parks, Movies and Food?
Show notes
883 · Disney In or Out? Do We Agree on Disney Parks, Movies and Food?
Is The Magic of Disney Animation a bigger addition to Walt Disney World than Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? Should the original Star Wars saga ever be remade with a new cast? And can a Disneyland churro really settle an argument about which coast has the better snacks?
This week, I invite you to join me and some of our friends around the virtual table for another round of Disney In or Out? I give them (and you) a statement, we each pick a side, and then we defend our answers while you play along wherever you’re listening.
• The Magic of Disney Animation: Does an experience the whole family can share beat another thrill ride, or does Guardians still have the edge?
• A new Skywalker saga: Would a fresh cast introduce Star Wars to a new generation, or should Disney spend that creative energy on new stories?
• More separately ticketed nights: When is a special event worth the trade-off for guests visiting on a regular park ticket?
• Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets: We talk about the music, the Easter eggs, and what we hope could happen in that corner of Hollywood Studios.
• A day without rides: We make the case for EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and even a little holiday wandering at Hollywood Studios.
• The resort and food rounds: Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge, Hollywood Brown Derby, Disneyland versus Walt Disney World snacks, and a Big Hero 6 sequel we would love to see.
• And more!There are no points, no prizes, and apparently no limit to how seriously we can discuss a snack or attraction.
Which statement had you shouting your answer at the three of us, and why? Come tell me in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or leave a voicemail at 407-900-9391.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
59 min
882 · Marvel in Disney Parks: Behind the Magic with Brian Crosby
Show notes
882 · Marvel in Disney Parks: Behind the Magic with Brian Crosby
How does Marvel come to life in Disney Parks... and what does a little boy meeting Peter Pan have to do with it? This week, I sit down with Marvel Studios' Brian Crosby at the WDW Radio booth at D23 for a conversation about turning the characters we love into places, adventures, and memories we can experience for ourselves.
Brian spent ten years as an Imagineer before joining Marvel, and he shares the thought behind experiences that stretch from Hong Kong Disneyland to Tokyo and beyond. We talk about the creative choices that help a story connect, whether you know every comic book or are meeting a character for the first time.
You'll discover:
• Why the Iron Man Experience queue had to introduce the man inside the armor.
• How Groot became the guide to a very different kind of Marvel adventure.
• The childhood Peter Pan encounter Brian still thinks about when creating experiences.
• What it meant to Stan Lee to see Marvel become part of the Disney Parks.
• How ideas can travel from comics to attractions and back into animation.
• Which attractions Brian would want to share with Walt Disney.Along the way, we attempt a 55-second lightning round that goes about as well as you'd expect when the two of us start talking Disney, food, and comic books. You don't need to know the Marvel timeline to enjoy this one, just the feeling of meeting a character who means something to you.
🙋🏻♀️ What Disney character encounter has stayed with you, and what made it special? Share YOUR story at http://WDWRadio.com/Clubhouse.
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52 min
881 · The Magic of Disney Animation: An E-Ticket Without a Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Show notes
881 · The Magic of Disney Animation: An E-Ticket Without a Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios
The Magic of Disney Animation gives Disney’s Hollywood Studios a new way to explore how the movies we love are made. But I kept coming back to a bigger question: what makes a place feel like a studio when the movies are no longer being made there?
This week, join me as we discover what’s inside, which details deserve a closer look, and why different people in your family might love completely different parts of the same experience. We’ll connect it to the original animation tour and explore why I think this is an E-ticket experience without needing to be an E-ticket ride.
• A studio open house: How Once Upon a Studio connects the experience, with characters taking over and artwork coming to life.
• Hidden details worth finding: A Lost and Found with references to Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet, plus a chandelier whose paintbrushes were individually named by Disney artists.
• Inside the Animator’s Office: Personal objects, familiar tools, and unexpected references that bring you closer to the people behind the films.
• Characters with a purpose: Why Mulan is in Story, Rapunzel is in Layout, and Goofy has somehow been entrusted with Lighting at Off the Page!
• An unexpected Mulan moment: The conversation that brought back a memory of my son and changed how I think about character encounters.
• Olaf Draws! and Eric Goldberg: The thread connecting Robin Williams in Back to Neverland to drawing Genie, and why my own attempt came with a written apology.
• Room to play and discover: Mary Blair’s influence on Drawn to Wonderland, and why I’d leave yourself time to wander.There’s history, humor, practical advice, and a drawing that probably raises more questions than it answers. What part of The Magic of Disney Animation would you most want to spend time exploring, and why?
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
1 hr 27 min
880 · Tasting Disney History: The Unofficial Disney Parks Retro Cookbook with Carly Caramanna
Show notes
880 · Tasting Disney History: The Unofficial Disney Parks Retro Cookbook
What if you could taste your way through Disney Parks history?
This week, I’m joined by theme park and travel journalist Carly Caramanna, co-author with Julie Tremaine of The Unofficial Disney Parks Retro Cookbook: 60+ Nostalgic Recipes and Stories of Yesteryear. And while “cookbook” is in the title, this conversation becomes something much bigger: a journey through Disneyland and Walt Disney World history using food as our time machine.
Carly shares how discovering a 1981 Walt Disney World dining guide eventually led to the book, why the Adventurers Club became one of her first chapters, and how restaurants can tell us what Disney was trying to become during different eras.
We wander through the Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant, Casa de Fritos, Top of the World, Aunt Polly’s, Writer’s Stop, Pleasure Island, the Handwich, ABC Soap Opera Bistro, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, and more.
We also explore why Disney fans become nostalgic for places they never experienced, how old recipes were adapted for modern kitchens, why Disney Legend Bob Gurr was the perfect person to write the foreword, and which Disney foods Carly believes we may someday regret taking for granted.
Most of all, we ask whether the food itself is really what we miss, or whether one bite simply brings back the people and versions of ourselves connected to it.
If you could bring back one extinct Disney restaurant or menu item tonight, what would it be, and why?
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
1 hr 3 min
879 · Return to Progress City: Imagining Walt Disney’s City of Tomorrow
Show notes
879 · Return to Progress City: Imagining Walt Disney’s City of Tomorrow
What if the most interesting thing about Walt Disney’s Progress City isn’t that it was never built, but that it was never really finished?
Recorded live at the WDW Radio booth at D23, former Walt Disney Imagineering President Bob Weis and artist, architect, and former Imagineer Eric Robison join me to explore Eric’s extraordinary new book, Return to Progress City.
What begins with Walt’s original vision for EPCOT becomes something much bigger: a conversation about imagination, architecture, storytelling, technology, creativity, and what happens when you give yourself permission to start with a blank page.
Eric shares how a pandemic project to paint another 100 Mickeys ended at number 38 when his imagination pulled him back to the Progress City model that had fascinated him since childhood. Bob also reveals something remarkable from Marty Sklar’s archives: Marty’s original handwritten notes from conversations with Walt about EPCOT and the City of Tomorrow.
We explore the wonderfully strange Progress City story Bob and Eric dreamed up over pastrami and martinis, how Imagineers move from rough “chicken scratch” to places filled with story and emotion, why Eric believes something human can disappear when we jump too quickly to the computer, the role of AI in creativity, and why even the most beautiful visual idea still needs a writer and a story.
And then Bob hands Eric a blank card and asks him to draw the future, right there at the table.
I also share something very personal from D23: the release of my new book, The Disney Interviews: Disney Legends Edition. This new 456-page collection preserves 18 in-depth conversations with Disney Legends including Julie Andrews, Marty Sklar, Richard M. Sherman, Tony Baxter, Alan Menken, Joe Rohde, Bob Gurr, Alice Davis, Don Hahn, Jodi Benson, Paige O’Hara, Dave Smith, and more, along with completely new introductions, stories, context, and artwork, along with completely new introductions, stories, context, and artwork.
It is available now in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.
If Walt handed you that blank page today, what would you add to Progress City?
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
2 hr 48 min
878 · D23 Disney Parks Announcements: Sightlines Into Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy
Show notes
878 · D23 Disney Parks Announcements: Sightlines Into Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy
The loudest cheers at D23 weren't necessarily for what Disney was building next. They were for what Disney was willing to bring back, repair, and finally acknowledge.
In a presentation built on a little faith, trust, and pixie dust, Disney asked fans to believe in an ambitious future, but this time it also showed its work. Models, progress, priorities, restorations, and even the things Disney chose to address directly revealed a much bigger story than any single attraction announcement.
In WDW Radio # 878, we look at the D23 2026 Disney Parks announcements through a series of "sightlines" that connect Villains Land, Piston Peak National Park, Dreamfinder, the Expedition Everest Yeti, Spaceship Earth, Tomorrowland, Monstropolis, Tropical Americas, Disney Cruise Line, and much more. And the sightlines stretch well beyond the U.S., from Disneyland Paris and the return of its Jules Verne-inspired Space Mountain to new Tomorrowland, Avengers, and Spider-Man experiences coming to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
When you step back, it starts to look like a very Disney story of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy. Yesterday is being honored through attractions, characters, and experiences fans refused to let go of. Tomorrow is taking shape through ambitious new lands, technologies, attractions, and global expansion. And fantasy is where Disney is creating entirely new places and stories for us to step inside.
We also explore what changed the perspective on some of these projects, why "no height requirement" may be one of the most important phrases of the night, why the sequence of these projects may matter as much as the projects themselves, and what Disney did not announce... and why.
This isn't simply a recap of D23 2026. It's a closer look at what Disney is building, what it is preserving, what it is asking us to trust, and what all of it may mean for the way we experience the Disney Parks around the world in the years ahead.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
1 hr 8 min
877 · Disney Worldbuilders Interview with Leslie Iwerks
Show notes
877 · Disney Worldbuilders Interview with Leslie Iwerks
Disney Worldbuilders asks a question most of us have never thought to ask... where does a Disney world actually begin?
Not the land. Not the ride. The moment before any of it existed, when it was still just a feeling inside one person's head.
This week I sit down with Leslie Iwerks, director of The Imagineering Story and Disneyland Handcrafted, to talk about her ambitious new documentary. Disney Worldbuilders brings together Bob Iger, Josh D'Amaro, James Cameron, Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Pete Docter, Jennifer Lee, and Jared Bush for a series of remarkably candid conversations about how deeply personal ideas become stories, characters, and physical worlds that millions of people can walk into.
I had the privilege of screening the film before its release, and it is even better than I hoped.
In our conversation, Leslie shares:
• Why so many of today's most influential creators were Disney fans first, and what that says about the parks
• How personal struggles and childhood memories shaped stories like Frozen, Inside Out, and Zootopia
• The brutal note Jared Bush received on an early version of Zootopia, and what pulled it back from the edge
• Why Kevin Feige's favorite detail in any Disney land is a construction wall
• Why story and technology have always worked together at Disney, going back to Walt and Ub
• What creative failure, uncertainty, and rejection can teach the rest of us
• How great leadership protects storytellers and creative risk
• Why honoring Disney's history cannot mean being afraid to evolve it
• The moment Leslie filmed that became the emotional heart of the filmLeslie also reflects on her grandfather, Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, and her father, Disney Legend Don Iwerks, and how their legacy of combining storytelling and technology continues through Disney's worldbuilders today. She does not just study world builders. She comes from them.
Disney Worldbuilders premieres at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on August 16 and begins streaming on Disney+ on August 20.
Subscribe to WDW Radio so you never miss an episode. Then tell me this: What Disney story, character, attraction, or world first made you believe that something impossible could become real? Share your answer in the WDW Radio Clubhouse at http://WDWRadio.com/Clubhouse, or leave me a voicemail at 407-900-9391.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
1 hr 37 min
876 · D23 Predictions: Promises, Proof, and Possibilities
Show notes
Two years ago, Disney made us nearly 50 promises at D23 Expo 2024. This year, they have to keep them.
So what will Disney actually reveal at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event?
I'm going park by park, resort by resort, and all the way around the world with my predictions for the Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase. Villains Land. Piston Peak. Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. Space Mountain and Tomorrowland. Journey Into Imagination. Spaceship Earth. Monstropolis. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Tropical Americas. Expedition Everest. Avengers Campus. Pandora at Disney California Adventure. Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Disneyland Abu Dhabi and more.
I don't think this is another year of dozens of brand new promises. I think this is the year Disney has to show us what is real, what has changed, when we might actually experience it, and what may be quietly slipping away while nobody was looking.
Do we finally find out what Villains Land is really going to be called? I have a theory, and it starts with a mountain. Could Figment and Dreamfinder finally return to EPCOT, and what if the answer isn't the one we've all been asking for? Is Tomorrowland quietly undergoing a complete transformation? Does Disney's Animal Kingdom finally get a nighttime spectacular? And what is the one surprise that nobody sees coming?
Some of these are possible. Some are wild cards. And some are simply fun to dream about. That is part of what makes D23 so special.
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• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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1 hr 11 min
875 · The runDisney Companion: Your Race Day Guide from Fantasy to Finish Line
Show notes
875 · The runDisney Companion: Your Race Day Guide from Fantasy to Finish Line
Before sunrise at Walt Disney World, thousands of people round the bend toward Cinderella Castle and fall in love with running in a way most guests never will. That is runDisney - and whether you are eyeing your very first 5K or chasing your next Dopey, there has never been one book to take you from registration to the finish line. Until now.
In WDW Radio #875, Lou Mongello sits down with Lisa DiNoto Glassner, founder of The Castle Run, to talk about her brand new book, The runDisney Companion: Your Race Day Guide from Fantasy to Finish Line and Beyond. It is the guide so many runners wished they had - part race day handbook, part love letter to the runDisney community, and part a collection of hard-won lessons that reach far beyond the finish line.
Lou and Lisa get into everything that makes a runDisney race work, from the 5K and 10K to the Princess Half Marathon and the full Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. They cover how to survive registration morning, why entering through a charity can be the smartest move, how to start training from scratch, how doable a 5K really is, the one mistake nearly every new runner makes, and why getting to the start line is harder than getting to the finish line. Plus the dozen life lessons at the heart of the book, why the community cheers louder for the last finisher than the first, and Lisa's simple challenge to anyone still on the fence - if you love Disney, you owe it to yourself to do a 5K.
There is a powerful personal story behind the book too, one of grief, running as healing, and the courage to walk away from one life to begin another. But at its core, as Lisa says, it is not about running at all. It is about the courage to step up to the starting line, before you know how the story ends.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
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🎧 Explore More:
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• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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1 hr 37 min
874 · The Walt Disney World Time Capsule - What Would You Put in the Box?
Show notes
874 · The Walt Disney World Time Capsule - What Would You Put in the Box?
It is 2076. Someone digs up a sealed time capsule in Walt Disney World. What did we choose to leave them?
This week on WDW Radio, we build a Walt Disney World time capsule - a snapshot of the parks exactly as they exist in 2026. And there is one rule attached to it that changes every single answer.
One attraction. One resort. One song. One snack. One smell. One sound. One price. More than a dozen categories in all, spanning Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom, and the Walt Disney World resorts - and none of them are as easy as they sound.
Along the way: the real time capsules Disney has already buried at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and the wonderfully surprising things they chose to seal inside them. The pick that broke the rule in the very first category. And the one thing we each wanted to make sure went in that box, no matter what.
Plus a final item that is not an object at all.
So what would you put in the box? Call the voicemail and tell me, and I will play your answers on a future show.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
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- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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1 hr 5 min
873 · Your Disney Questions + Our Disneyland Halloween Special Events
Show notes
873 · Your Disney Questions + Our Disneyland Halloween Special Events
What would you bring back if you could restore any extinct Disney attraction exactly as it was? What is the weirdest piece of Disney merchandise you own? What's really next for Tomorrowland? Where should you go if want to visit the Disney Park in Asia? What is the TRUTH behind the Tomorrowland film's famous 1952 mystery blueprint? And what is happening this October at Disneyland that you don't want to miss?
This week, I opened up the inbox and share details about our WDW Radio Haunts and Heroes Week at Disneyland happening October 27-29, 2026. We're talking Oogie Boogie Bash VIP access, a private Marvel-themed breakfast inside Disney California Adventure before it opens to the public, and a remarkable experience. Tickets are limited. Spots are already moving. You need to know about this now.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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59 min
872 · Why Disney Changed the Rules… and a D23 Tease
Show notes
872 · Why Disney Changed the Rules… and a D23 Tease
This week I am doing something I almost never do.
I am taking a piece of my Wednesday night live show and turning it into an episode, because you have been asking me about it... a lot.
There is a new Disney Springs transportation rule, and online, people are melting down. So let me pull up a chair and really talk with you about what changed, why I think it happened, and why so much of it comes back to the guest experience.
And here is why I wanted to bring this to the podcast. What I share today is not just about this one rule. I think it applies to so many decisions Disney has made, and will make, and once you see it through that lens, a lot of things start to make more sense.
Along the way I will also take us back to a place a lot of us still miss, the Adventurers Club, and why it really closed. I will share my thoughts on the new Pirates of the Caribbean animatronic, why a place like Level 99 made me so happy, a little bit on choosing the good... and yes, a tease about what is coming from WDW Radio at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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52 min
871 · The Most Surprising Hotel Near Walt Disney World: My ette Hotel Review
Show notes
871 · The Most Surprising Hotel Near Walt Disney World: My ette Hotel Review
One of the most exclusive hotel awards on the planet - harder to earn than a Michelin star, given to less than 1% of hotels worldwide - belongs to a boutique property sitting just one mile from Disney's Animal Kingdom. Yet most Disney fans have never heard of it.
Lou Mongello has stayed at virtually every Disney resort and countless hotels around the world, always believing that where you stay shapes the entire tone of a vacation. So when he was invited to experience ette Hotel, he wasn't quite sure what to expect.
What he discovered surprised him.
In WDW Radio #871, Lou shares his complete, honest review of ette Hotel - from the beautifully designed rooms and Michelin Key recognition to hospitality that echoes the Disney philosophy of "everything speaks." He also dives into one of the best meals he's had in a very long time at Salt & The Cellar, and why the restaurant alone may be worth the trip. Plus, what makes this property different, who it's perfect for, and why it may be one of Central Florida's most overlooked luxury experiences.
If you've ever wondered whether stepping outside the Disney bubble could actually enhance your Walt Disney World vacation, this episode might surprise you as much as the hotel surprised Lou.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
1 hr 32 min
870 · 10 Reasons to Visit Shanghai Disneyland... and Why This Trip Changed Me
Show notes
870 · 10 Reasons to Visit Shanghai Disneyland... and Why This Trip Changed Me
China is a long way to go for a theme park... but Shanghai Disneyland is not a theme park. It is a destination that happens to have a Disney castle at its center.
Lou Mongello had the privilege of being invited by Disney for Shanghai Disneyland's 10th anniversary celebration, with time alongside the Imagineering team who built it. In this episode, he gives you 10 reasons to visit Shanghai Disneyland, and why right now, during its 10th anniversary, is the perfect time to go.
Here is what you will hear:
• The one design decision that makes Shanghai unlike any Disney park you have ever set foot in, and why it disorients you in the best possible way
• The only place on Earth you can walk through Zootopia, a land so detailed that guests line up just to photograph the lampposts
• Why the tallest Disney castle in the world is something you go inside, not just photograph, plus the anniversary-only shows playing on it right now
• The trackless boat ride that fans who have been to every Disney park call their single favorite attraction, period
• The one land where Disney hands you the controls, and the climb that Lou says sends you back down a different person
• The stunt show with a real, raging tornado on stage, performed more than 10,000 times with live performers inside it
• The snacks worth flying for, the Cast culture built from scratch, and the brand-new Spider-Man land rising right now with its coaster track already complete!
• and much more!And stay with me to the end, because this is the part I did not see coming. This trip did not just give me new things to talk about. It genuinely, fundamentally changed the way I think about Disney parks, not just what I think about them, but how. I am going to explain exactly how, and why, and why it might just change the way you see them too.
Whether Shanghai is already on your bucket list or you have never once considered it, this one might change your mind.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
43 min
869 · How Disney Magic Changed Baseball - Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas
Show notes
869 · How Disney Magic Changed Baseball - Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas
What happens when someone takes Walt Disney's philosophy and applies it far beyond Disney?
In this episode, I sit down with Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas and creator of Banana Ball, during their sold-out appearance at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports. What began as a conversation about baseball quickly became something much deeper.
Jesse shares how Disney shaped him as a child, the unforgettable Typhoon Lagoon experience that still influences his leadership today, and why Walt Disney's principles of innovation, storytelling, attention to detail, and relentless "plussing" have become foundational to Banana Ball's explosive success. We also hear from Disney Sports Vice President Adam Ball about why Banana Ball and Disney make such a natural fit.
This conversation isn't about baseball.
It's about creating unforgettable experiences, embracing criticism, taking bold risks, building culture, and putting people first.
Whether you're a Disney fan, entrepreneur, creator, leader, or someone pursuing a dream, the lessons in this episode are powerful, practical, and deeply inspiring.
In this episode you'll discover:
• How Disney influenced Jesse Cole's vision
• The surprising connection between Walt Disney and Banana Ball
• Why fan-first thinking changes everything
• The importance of "plussing" every experience
• Lessons in leadership, innovation, and resilience
• Why criticism may be a sign you're doing something meaningfulJesse Cole - Instagram
The Savannah Bananas - Instagram - YouTube
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
1 hr 25 min
868 · Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress: History, Debate & What's Next
Show notes
868 · Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress: History, Debate & What's Next
The Carousel of Progress reimagining announcement sparked one of the most passionate Disney fan conversations in recent memory.
Some fans are excited. Others are heartbroken. Many are somewhere in between.
And all of it makes complete sense - because this attraction isn't just a show. For a lot of us, it's a memory. A person. A moment that lives somewhere deep.
But before you land on how you feel, there's a story you need to hear. One that starts not with the announcement - but in the 1950s, with Walt Disney himself, and an idea that never made it off the drawing board. Because when you understand where Carousel of Progress actually came from, and how many times it has already changed, what Disney just announced looks like something very different.
In Episode 868, we trace the complete history - from Edison Square to the 1964 World's Fair to every revision across six decades - and into every detail of what is coming in 2027. The new scenes. The Walt Disney animatronic. The off-planet finale drawn from John Hench's original concept art. The fan reaction breakdown. And the case, built on Walt's own words, for why the carousel moving again after 30 years might be exactly what he always intended.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
2 hr 3 min
867 · Walt Disney World Just Got Major Upgrades - and This Summer Is the Best Time to Visit
Show notes
867 · Walt Disney World Just Got Major Upgrades - and This Summer Is the Best Time to Visit
This might quietly be one of the biggest overall summer upgrades Walt Disney World has had in years.
Not because of one giant new land - but because every park, every age group, and nearly every type of guest got meaningful, real enhancements at the exact same time.
After being invited by Disney to their Summer Fun Fest media event, Lou Mongello goes far beyond the headlines in WDW Radio Episode 867.
At one point during the event, he sat in a room with Disney leadership - park operations, Imagineering, and the facility asset management team (the most important team at Walt Disney World that most guests have never heard of) - for a candid conversation about how Disney actually makes decisions, processes guest feedback, and thinks about the future of the parks.
That context changes everything that comes after it.
Buzz Lightyear. Big Thunder Mountain. The Muppets. Mandalorian and Grogu. Bluey. Every park, something real - and a full conversation with a Walt Disney Imagineering Story Lead about how Disney decides what to change, what to keep, and why it all matters.
Plus: why the connection between films, streaming, and parks is stronger than it has ever been. And why now - right now - is the best time to visit Walt Disney World in 2026.
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
-
1 hr 34 min
866 · The Best Food at Walt Disney World Isn't Where You Think It Is
Show notes
866 · The Best Food at Walt Disney World Isn't Where You Think It Is
The best food at Walt Disney World isn't where you think it is.
In WDW Radio # 866, Lou Mongello spends a full day eating his way through Disney's Animal Kingdom - stop by stop, bite by bite - and makes the case that this is Walt Disney World's most extraordinary culinary destination.
Colombian arepas and globally inspired rice bowls. Viral desserts and hidden gems. Drinks in Pandora - The World of Avatar developed with James Cameron's team. Nomad Lounge. Tiffins at 10 years. And a full conversation with Chef Greg Hannon, Culinary Director of Disney's Animal Kingdom, about authenticity, storytelling through food, the future of Tropical Americas, and what his perfect food day in the park looks like.
This is Disney's Animal Kingdom like you have never tasted it before.
Plus, I'll have a very special announcement to share with you at the end of the show... but here's a not-so-subtle hint
📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391
✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com
📬 Stay Connected:
- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!
- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
🎧 Explore More:
• https://wdwradio.com/ - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
• https://wdwradiolive.com/ - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nights
• Events & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!https://loumongello.com/ - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.
🙏🏼 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.
Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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