I gave you, the readers, a chance to vote on which one of the two Shows
of the Week from October you thought should be Show of the Month. The
votes came in via twitter @wakefieldreport and the winner and October Show
of the month is.......
Show of the Month: Wedway Radio Episode 132:This weeks show from the brothers
Parrish is by far the best podcast I
have listened to all week, and maybe even the best show I have heard all year.
More than anything what impressed me about this weeks episode is that the
normally awesome and informative Matt and Nate managed to do an even better job
at getting information out to their listeners. On this weeks show they are
joined by Steve "Tikiman" Seifert who is an absolute expert on
everything that is Disney’s Polynesian resort. To even begin to try and
describe how amazing this weeks show was is an overwhelming task. The
combination of the Matt, Nate, and Steve is one that works very well. I am
surprised by just how much Steve knows about the Polynesian resort, and I also
was surprised by the amazing amount of detail they go into on this show. On the
surface a podcast episode about the Polynesian resort did not seem too
appealing to me, but I knew that I was in good hands with Matt and Nate. The
added factor of Steve on this weeks show multiplied the usual information
output of WEDWAY Radio by a thousand! And in typical mMatt and Nate fashion, I
walked away from the episode having learned more in 90 minutes then I all of
the Polynesian knowledge I had gathered over the last three years. Top notch,
five stars! This is what podcasting is all about for me. History, information,
and great story telling!
Unofficial
Univeral Orlando Podcast Episode 42:Whew. What a relief! I had some
very conflicted emotions going into this new Halloween edition of UUOP, and I am happy to report that long
gone are the 2 hours shows filled with script reads and copy/paste jobs from
the Universal website, and back are the usual fun, smart, and hilarious Lee,
Tracey, and Darren that I have come to love. On the first UUOP Halloween special last yearwe were introduced to Darren and he gave an excellent trip report on Universals
Halloween Horror Nights. Now a UUOP
host, Darren returns to the role of last year and shares his thoughts on HHN
and Busch Gardens Howl O Scream. As usual, Darren is articulate, smart, and
almost accidentally funny. Lee and Tracey do a great job at playing the role of
the listener and asking Darren important, need to know questions. This is an
example of how their handicap of not being able to visit the park is an
advantage. They ask questions, listen to stories, and probe deeper as if they
were about to leave on a trip tomorrow and they were trying to get every last
drop of information from Darren. Lee made a bit of a big deal of the background
music on this weeks show but I was so enthralled and into the topics and
content of the show, I didn’t even notice the background music. (Maybe that is
the way its supposed to be.) The listener trip reports were interesting to
listen as well, and the interview a former Universal team member was down right
fascinating. Their guest was Adrian LePeltier, and on top of being funny, he
was a mountain of information and stories. While the opening segment of the
show went on a little bit too long, I can forgive that because the rest of the
show was top notch. Definitely take the time and give this weeks show a listen.
Magical
Definition October 28: Nathan Rose and Jim Hill continue to soldier on and
turn conventional theme park podcasting on its ear. On this weeks show the duo
talks about the new Disney animated feature Wreck it Ralph. Sometimes I do feel a little bit bad for Nathan. He
does the intro for the show and then poses a question to Jim, and 40 minutes
later the show is over. Ok, so maybe its not that stark, but Jim does tend to
run with a question for a long time. And as Jim Hills number one fan, I am 100%
ok with that! I have noticed in the last few shows that Nathan has been doing a
little bit of a better job at getting a word in edge wise. When it comes to the
content on this weeks show, it’s the same as always with Magical Definition;
you simply can not compete with the amount of knowledge and insider information
that Jim Hill brings to the table. Like him or not, he is one of the most
informed and articulate guys in the business today. When it comes to the
discussion about Wreck it Ralph, I
have to say that I disagree a little bit with Jim Hills assessment of the film. I
think he kind of under rated it and didn’t do the best job of conveying the
true story of the film to the listeners. That being said, like usual, this
weeks Magical Definition is still
well worth the listen.
WDW
Happy Place Episode 16: On this weeks show the hosts are joined by two
guests to talk about the recent opening of New Fantasyland. Now I really do to
want to come across as harsh, but I really did not enjoy this weeks show. And
that is not just because it’s a glorified trip report of a show, but I do think
that the guests on the show heavily over rated New Fantasyland. Giving the new
themed land a 9 star review is just too much for me, and because I really
disagreed with the rating and opinion of New Fantasyland, I found it hard to
stay engaged and interested in the rest of the show. There was also some
hesitation from one of the guests to “spoil” New Fantasyland. So the review was
vague, shallow, and full of incomplete thoughts and ideas. More so than an
objective overview of the land, the trip report turned into a pseudo step by
step tour of the land with details. It felt like all the guest was saying was, “Well
this attraction is over here, and this shop is next to it.”The strong hesitation to ot “spoil” the new
land led me to become even more disengaged with the show. And I understand that
a show that is hosted by a few moms may not be in my wheel house, but I would
much rather listen to the Mickey Mama’s podcast
than this weeks episode of WDW Happy
Place. Again, I might be a little too harsh with this review, but this
weeks show just did not click for me.
Show of the Week: Wedway Radio Episode 132:This weeks show from the brothers
Parrish is by far the best podcast I
have listened to all week, and maybe even the best show I have heard all year.
More than anything what impressed me about this weeks episode is that the
normally awesome and informative Matt and Nate managed to do an even better job
at getting information out to their listeners. On this weeks show they are
joined by Steve "Tikiman" Seifert who is an absolute expert on
everything that is Disney’s Polynesian resort. To even begin to try and
describe how amazing this weeks show was is an overwhelming task. The
combination of the Matt, Nate, and Steve is one that works very well. I am
surprised by just how much Steve knows about the Polynesian resort, and I also
was surprised by the amazing amount of detail they go into on this show. On the
surface a podcast episode about the Polynesian resort did not seem too
appealing to me, but I knew that I was in good hands with Matt and Nate. The
added factor of Steve on this weeks show multiplied the usual information
output of WEDWAY Radio by a thousand! And in typical mMatt and Nate fashion, I
walked away from the episode having learned more in 90 minutes then I all of
the Polynesian knowledge I had gathered over the last three years. Top notch,
five stars! This is what podcasting is all about for me. History, information,
and great story telling!
This means that WEDWAY Radio Episode 132 and Inside the Magic Episode 391 are the two candidates for October Show of the Month! So tweet me @wakefieldreport your vote!
On Saturday
I was invited to attend the Disney Parks Blog/Disney Studios Wreck it Ralph
preview screening at Downtown Disney in Orlando, Florida. Now after the massive
debacle that was the pass holder New Fantasyland signups last week, I was very cautious and a bit nervous about how Disney would handle so many people at such
a high profile event. During last weeks pass holder signups I saw the absolute
worst of Disney, and was all but forced to believe that Disney had no respect
or love for its most die hard fans. So here I am, up early on a Saturday
morning, surrounded by some very hardcore Disney fans, and I was wondering if we
were doomed to suffer from the same fate. Luckily, I my fears did not come true,
and Disney Parks Blog along with Disney Studios did a great job at renewing my
faith in Disney and their attitude towards their most dedicated fans. This is
how the day unfolded.
The event
was held in two different spots in the Downtown Disney area. The first part of
our day began outside of Disney Quest. The five-story, game filled, noise
factory that many vacationing Disney World families flock to on a rainy day.
Disney Quest it packed the rafters with vintage video games, simulators, and
all of the best arcade toys a nerd could dream of. What better place to put a
bunch of 80’s kids who are already geeked and psyched to see an animated movie
about a classic 80’s era arcade game? As we lined up outside a group of very
enthusiastic cast members from Disney PR, and Studios (I think), worked their
way down the line handing out wrist bands, giving away free Wreck it Ralph
swag, and taking video of the fans waiting to get inside. Their attitude
towards us was complimentary, engaging, and nothing but helpful. The group gave
us our directions for the day in a calm, and helpful manner. Never once did
they yell orders at us, and never did they make us feel as if we were cattle
waiting in the stocks on our way to slaughter. The entire process outside of getting
our wrist bands, signing in, and completing the wavier form moving smoothly. Its
amazing how a crowd acts when you treat them with respect and dignity. Compare
this to the way the team over at Disney Parks yells and barks orders to their
guests all day, and then they wonder why events still don’t move smoothly (Fantasmic!).
Once inside
Disney Quest we found that there was not too much different about the place
with the exception of the third floor. The center of this floor serves as the
lobby of sorts, and this is where Disney PR had set up a few Wreck it Ralph
props for fans to pose with. There was an artist who was painting an original
Wreck it Ralph picture, and there were even cameras set up from the Disney
Parks Blog. They were taking video and pictures of fans throughout the day.
(More on that later.) Inside on multiple floors Disney had set up a few Fix it
Felix games. With these arcade games being the central focal point in the Wreck
it Ralph film, these consoles were obviously a hit during this event. The only
time during the entire Disney Quest portion of the event were things got a
little awkward or unorganized was when there would be a long line of people
behind one person who was playing the popular Fix it Felix game, and the person
just didn’t quite know when his/her time on the game was up. This is a problem
that has plagued public gamers for quite some time, and since Disney did not
install auto shut off timers on the games, it was sort of up to the people who
were behind said offender in line to take the law into their own hands by
giving dirty looks, or coughing loudly to indicate that the player had their
fair share of game time. But for the most part, these incidents were few and
far between.
(Photo by: Chris Wakefield)
One of the
really great things about the event was that it seemed that Disney did not pack
the event full of people. Yes, Disney Quest was a little crowded, but no more
than a usual day there; maybe less. In my group of four people, we never had to
wait more than five minutes to have our turn on any game or simulator. Now, I only
wish everyday at Disney Quest ran this smoothly. Throughout the play portion of
the event, Disney was running small contests on a few games. The person who got
the highest score on a certain game received a free tee shirt, or Wreck it
Ralph hat during the screening later that morning. This was yet another nice
touch from Disney PR.
(Photo by: Chris Wakefield)
I went to
this event with three other friends on this day and one of them was Candy
Ellis, who went to the event dressed as one of the stars of Wreck it Ralph, Fix
it Felix Jr. Needless to say, Candy got a lot of attention that day. Not only
from fellow fans but also from Disney PR! On our way out of the Disney Quest
portion of the event, we were stopped by John from Disney PR who asked Candy if
she would give the famous, “I can fix it!” line from the game and film. Candy was
more than happy to say the line in front of the Disney Parks Blog cameras. After
Candy Oscar worthy delivery, John turned to me and asked if I would deliver
the, “I'm gonna wreck it” line for the cameras, and after about three minutes of
some very awkward delivery of the line to the cameras we made our way out of
Disney Quest and headed toward the Downtown Disney AMC for our special
screening of Wreck it Ralph. Oh yeah, and on the way to the screening Disney
provided us with free soda and popcorn. Candy and her well done Fix it Felix Jr
costume made it into the Disney Parks Blog promotional video (posted below),
and to my surprise, so did I!
(Candy filming with Disney.
Photo by: Chris Wakefield)
So add all
of this together, and you could only imagine how excited, happy, and thrilled
we were by the time we made our way into the theater to see Wreck it Ralph. This
is where things did go a little bit crazy, but nothing too bad. Upon showing our
wrist bands to the crew at AMC we were led over to the holding area. At this
point we were told we had to hand over any cameras, or phones. After some
confusion, mixed signals, and waiting we put our things into a plastic bag and
were given a ticket slip to claim our items at the end of the screening. My group
was one of the first to arrive and therefor, one of the first to get our seats
inside the theater. With the screening scheduled to start at 11am, we were
getting a little bit concerned when at five minutes until show time, the theater was less than half empty. Turns out that the extensive bag searching
and wanding process that every guests was being but through was slowing things
down quite a bit. The staff who was wanding and searching the guests were not
employed by Disney. They were AMC staff, and after a morning of being coddled
and spoon fed by Disney PR, we were all a bit turned off by the less than
friendly attitude of the AMC security staff.
After some introductions, prize giveaways, and a special preview of the new Wreck it Ralph
meet and greet character, the film began, and we all were sent into Disney fan
heaven. The entire day overall was a great and refreshing experience. It felt
good and right to be a Disney fan again. It felt great to know that at least in
some division of the Disney company that they still cared about the fans. I left
the event on cloud 9 and more than willing to run off and tell every single
person I know that they should go see this movie. I only hope that the people
over at Disney PR and the Disney Parks Blog can give a lesson in guest service
and crowd control the people at Disney Parks who put on events.
(Photo by: Chris Wakefield)
If you would like to know my thoughts on the Wreck it Ralph film check back here on Thursday when i post my Wreck it Ralph review, or listen to Episode 7 of the Wakefield Report Podcast where i talk about the event and film with some friends!
Here is the Disney Parks Blog Wreck it Ralph video featuring Candy and myself.
