Retro Disney World Podcast

104 - Orange Bird

Find out all about the Orange Bird, the former mascot of the Florida Citrus Growers who once appeared on merchandise everywhere around Florida and at the Sunshine Tree Pavilion at Walt Disney World. We'll talk about his origins, his work promoting citrus, and his eventual disappearance and later new lease on life at Disney's parks, first in Tokyo, and finally Walt Disney World.

101 - Downtown Disney West Side

Take a walk around Downtown Disney West Side as it was on opening day in 1997. The Virgin Megastore dominated the corner block, but there were fun smaller stores too like Magnetron and Starbillias. West Side was a ‘90s diners‘ paradise with themed restaurants like Bongos, Forty Thirst Street and Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe. We go into detail about each location, including when they closed, what they became, and where they were in relation to today's West Side. We also discuss the state of retail shopping in the 1990s and 2000s, the demographics that made Disney shopping boom, and how West Side's strategy of having tenants instead of Disney-run stores set up what Disney Springs would become.

102 - The Bicentennial at WDW

Step back with us to Walt Disney World during America’s 1976 birthday celebration, when the parks were dressed to the nines for the United States Bicentennial. We relive the sights and sounds of the era—patriotic parades and float details, nighttime fireworks, and the red-white-and-blue bunting and decorations that transformed Main Street and beyond. Expect lots of vivid nostalgia, deep-cut observations, and the little design choices that made the Bicentennial feel uniquely Disney.

99 - Orlandoland

This month How leads a discussion about the selection process that brought Walt Disney World to Orlando, the different sites in the area that were considered for purchase, and some of the alternate locations that were considered. He also talks about when Walt Disney World almost helped build a city of the future and theme park in Palm Beach Gardens in 1959!

98.5 RetroMagic June Update

This episode of the RetroWDW Podcast is somewhat unique and calls for a different type of introduction. Our team has been hard at work planning for RetroMagic, which will take place from September 26th to September 28th, 2025.  For this show, we thought we would give you a little behind-the-scenes update, some sneak peeks of upcoming panels, and even some new things that have not been announced yet. This is going to be our biggest event yet and we look forward to seeing all of you again very soon.  All the information is in the 35 minute episode, but as you listen, be sure to check out the following, as we have a few places you can look for information: www.RetroMagic.net [https://retromagic.net/] – Main source for information & tickets RetroWDW Info Page [https://www.retrowdw.com/events/retromagic-events-on-9-26-9-28-celebrating-decades-of-wdw/] – Has some extra tidbits about the event LBVHS Donations [https://donorbox.org/lbvhistory/] – Support our mission and get some amazing gifts TeePublic Store [https://www.teepublic.com/stores/retrowdw] – Grab some gear for the upcoming event RetroMagic on YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjCYT8U9ncUrMpB0mNc9oPz5OgqfrGEMs&si=3456vDg1zGdgYntA] – Relive some of our past events and see how fun they are for attendees