Walkabout The World - A Disney Podcast - Episode 100 celebration with friends of the show!

Episode Date: July 25, 2022

Hello Travelers! Join us this week as we celebrate 100 episodes of Walkabout The World with the hosts, listeners, and friends of the show. Thank you so much to all of you who listen every week, take time to send us notes on Insta and email - we are grateful for you all. This weeks episode is nothing more than a quick pause to celebrate and be grateful that we're all on this journey together.    As always, use good listening devices as we always record in 4 channel surround sound. We hope you enjoy the episode and thanks so much for following along!    Look us up at @WalkaboutWDW on Instagram and drop us a note to say hi! Find our producer Josh also on Instagram at @TheSteele. Say hi to our west coast correspondent Ric at @opticaljedi. Lastly give a shout to our Orlando correspondents Pete at @neverlandlocal and Chaney at @ChaneyHunt.   You can now also drop us at line at [e-mail]. Say hi, give us some suggestions on things you'd love to hear, or even record your own 'Hello Traveler' show open when you are out and about, and we'll work it into a future show!

Hello there, travelers, friends. Welcome back to Walk About the World and welcome back to the Hollywood that never was and always will be. Welcome back to Echo Lake. And welcome to the 100th episode of Walk About the World. I can't believe it. I'm shocked. Mostly I'm grateful. It's been a lot of fun.

This is episode 100. And we're back here tonight at Hollywood Studios for a very particular reason. And we're here exactly where we are in Hollywood Studios for a very particular reason and we're here exactly where we are in Hollywood Studios for a reason so we're right here standing next to the green fence that surrounds echo leg Gertie is to our left SS down the hatch is to our right foreground Hyperion theater in the distance framed by beautiful dark thunderclouds this evening and right here next to the fence

wow about a year and a half ago is where I recorded the very first line of the very first episode of Walk About the World and I remember it because frankly I was scared to death because I'm by day a mild mannered

software developer I'm not good at this after 100 episodes I'm still not good at this I know you don't have to bring it up but right here we started this thing we took a walk from here back to Black Spire expire. And this was, frankly, a creation of necessity. I needed this. Not only did I really want something to listen to at work, where I could just escape into the parks with my ears, I thought, man, wouldn't it be great just to chill around Echo Lake or take a walk around the World Showcase and listen to that while I work. And we looked for it, and there really wasn't such a thing. And so we thought, hey, it doesn't exist, let's create it.

And didn't know if anybody would ever listen. At least four or five of you have, and that's been amazing. Seriously, though, folks, we have more listens than ever and it is really heartening and we don't do any of this, as I said, for money or to make a career out of it. It's a passion project and we're just very thankful for you. And that's all I'm going to say tonight as we sit here by Echo Lake for just a few minutes. I'm going to pass this off here in just a minute to the rest of our hosts. You're going to hear from most of them. You're going to hear from a few special guests.

A few of them I'm going to mention here. But really, I just want to celebrate. Because I believe at least in these past few years, if you can find something to celebrate, buddy, do it, because we need it. And so just thank you to all of you who listen, all of you who have given us words of encouragement. It really means a lot.

I could talk about last August and the issues I went through with anxiety. And I will mention Chrissy in particular here in a second, though I'm sure she doesn't want me to, but we're just grateful. It's been a fun journey. We're going to keep on going as long as you guys can tolerate us. But I want to thank all the hosts. I want to thank Josh in particular. The dude has been with me from day, I would say day one. It's been day minus something. I ran the idea by him before the first episode was ever recorded. He created the logo for us. And not only has he been a great friend and a supporter through all of this, but now, you guys know. He does full episodes. He edits many of our episodes. The guy just does it all. And seriously, could not have done 100 without you, man. Appreciate you. Thank you.

And to Heather and Chaney and Sophia and Rick and Pete, just thank you guys for the effort. I want to mention to you listeners something that isn't exactly obvious. I mean, it is obvious, but it's not something we mention often, but we don't do this in a studio. Every single episode that you hear,

we record it in park every single time, which means either on a weekend or a weeknight, Every single episode that you hear, we record it in park. Every single time. Which means either on a weekend or a weeknight, somebody's got to come out to the park. They have to walk around and record. They have to do possibly many takes. Crazy things happen here. You guys know this. From nearly being ran over by weaponized strollers to little ones completely over it and melting down on mic to literal people fighting each other and shouting at each other over the mic. I mean, things happen

here. Like things go down here in the parks. And so all of this is effort by somebody, by the crew here. And I just want to thank all of you for all the hours, the time, recording, the editing, everything. Really appreciate you, love you. Man, it's just so darn pleasant right now. So before I sign off and before I become a blubbering mess because I'm of that sort

just want to say we're incredibly grateful that you guys listen that you follow along and also want to give a special shout out to Chrissy of Touring Plans Crispy Lemons on Instagram.

Give her a follow. When I was down and out with some of my worst anxiety issues, I had a really bad time of it, guys. Some of you know this. Many of you don't, but I was basically incapacitated for several months. Couldn't even work for a period of time. Couldn't leave the house for a while. Couldn't drive by myself for a while. And it's been a journey. It's been a heck of a year. But during that time, Chrissy, who is the in-park person for Touring Plan,

she's in the parks literally at least five days a week. I do not know how she does it. I would have passed away long ago, but she took time out to record audio for us. That audio is several episodes of Walk About the World that most of the listeners never knew that she did this, and I am very grateful not only for the audio, but for the friendship. Chrissy, thank you for real. Our family loves you. Your family is amazing. Thanks for the effort.

And you will hear a little bit from her later on. You're also going to hear from Mark Valentine of DizLife Podcast. You're going to hear from Tim Scott of Resort Loop, who is not only an amazing friend but has been a mentor on the podcasting front. Tim and Bob Collar, you guys will always be the best. I'm sorry. That's just facts. It just is the best ever.

But you're going to hear from all of our crew, most of our crew at least, and some special guests. I'm going to sign off, pass the microphone to them. Good evening and thank you and love you from me and my family and from a very beautiful but humid Hollywood Studios in Echo Lake. Talk to you guys soon on another walkabout. That's enough for me. Hello, travelers. I'm Aljon.

And I'm Kristen. With the Disney List Podcast. Dining at Disney Podcast. And Skull Rock Podcast. Wishing you a happy 100 episodes. Woo-hoo! Keep it going. Yes. So congratulations once again to Jeremy, Josh, Pete, Rick, the entire crew.

Love you guys. Here's to 100 more episodes. Hey, how you doing? Just want to congratulate you on episode 100. Thanks for always providing me with the best ambiance on my evening walks. And cheers to 100 more and keep all the great work going. Hello, travelers. This is Tim Scott from resortloop.com. We're celebrating Jeremy Hunt and Walk About the World's 100th episode. I thought we'd take this opportunity that this would be a

good time to reflect. When Jeremy and I had dinner, we were at a Victorian Alberts. We were having dinner there at the Grand Floridian. And we wanted to talk about, you know, he wanted to discuss with me his plan for this Walk About the World. Well, I didn't really think it had a chance to even make it 10 episodes. I mean, he was buying. So as I ordered another bottle of the Jean-Michel Grenot 2013, you know, we continued to talk. And I thought, you know, Jeremy, I think you're on to something here. I think you need to launch this show. You know, I'm all in. I'm all for it.

I think you'd do a good job. Seriously, I'm kidding. You all know Jeremy went by. Anyway, I wanted to send a great big beautiful congratulations to Jeremy and the entire team there at Walk About the World. Jeremy, Chaney, Josh, Rick, Pete. Congratulations, everybody. I know how much work that is. Great accomplishment.

Keep going. I'm going to hear 100 more, if not even more than that. So everybody, you're doing a great job. And congratulations on your 100th episode. Keep moving forward. Hi, this is Chrissy, Chrissy Lemons from Touring Plans. I want to say congratulations to jeremy and the walkabout folks on 100 episodes i am currently standing in disney's hollywood studios on hollywood boulevard because what better tribute to this wonderful podcast that is full of all of our favorite sounds

all the things that make us happy i listen to it when I've had a really stressful day or I'm on my way in and I'm trying to prep my brain for an event and I'm really grateful that you guys are in the podcast space. So congratulations on 100 and here's to many hundreds more. Hello travelers, this is David from Vienna, Austria.

Just want to thank you guys for 100 times of spreading the Disney Park magic for us. Just amazing. And I can't wait to hear where you will take us for the next hundred episodes. Hope there are many more signs to read and vibes to catch. Thanks again, guys. Hey, gang. This is DisMark from DizLife Podcast. On behalf of Greg and myself, I want to say congratulations on 100 episodes and 40k downloads. You guys are simply incredible.

You bring so much of us joy, especially those who can't be in the parks regularly. So thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for transporting all of us to the most magical place on earth and beyond. Keep living your best Disney lives. And thank you again for taking us all on walkabout together. Best of luck in the next 100 episodes. I can't wait to see where your journey takes you guys. Rooting from afar.

Love you guys. Take care and congratulations again. Hey, hey, this is traveler Ryan calling in from Australia. Congratulations on 100 episodes. Thank you so much for the escapism, the tranquility, and the wonderful theater of the mind. As always, great to know I'm not alone. And I'm really looking forward to when we can travel again together. Thanks, guys. Jumbo Travelers, I am one of your Orlando Correspondents, Pete, a.k.a. Neverland Local, from one of my favorite places,

Animal Kingdom, or Disney's Animal Kingdom. And I want to say thank you to the people in the crew, Josh, Rick, Chaney, and Jeremy, for inviting me and welcoming me with open arms. This podcast has been amazing, and I'm looking forward to things going forward.

So I truly, truly, truly appreciate everyone and all you for listening. And I'm hoping to bring you the best auditory content that I could possibly bring. So with that, I will say I hope to hear from you. Take care. Hello, travelers. This is your intrepid West Coast correspondent, Rick, here. I apologize for the way I sound.

I have had a little bit of laryngitis the last couple days. To honor our 100th episode, I would like to talk to our fearless leader and how he got re-roped into all of this. Jeremy has been a friend for years, but over a year ago, we got to know each other better during one of our family trips to Walt Disney World. And I was even a guest in this very show on that episode

while in Epcot. I know a few of you even heard the beeps of my XCOM going off in the background. Knowing what inspired him to create this show really spoke to me and i found that i was often relaxing to the sweet sounds of this very show in walt disney world come to christmas this last year in disneyland i was struck by the amazing sounds of our parks um during the holidays and on the spur of the moment i did a few recordings on my phone and sent them to Jeremy. He dropped the episode the very next week as a bonus of me walking around at the holidays here.

And it really did blossom quite quickly into me becoming a regular on the show and getting the real deal microphone to be able to share you the wonderful sounds in 4-channel surround sound. And anyway, I just wanted to really thank all of you guys um it's really been something else the friendships and partnerships that we've developed uh over the the last few months as i've been a regular on the show working with jeremy josh pete and the occasional with cheney has really been um almost therapeutic for me. I really appreciate everything I've gotten out of working with all of you guys.

And once again, thanks so much for joining us on our 100th of our journeys here. And I hope to have a thousand more with all of you here at Walkabout WDW. Hey, everybody. It's Josh with you now. Coming to you here at Disney's Hollywood Studios. So, as you know by now, it's our 100th episode.

So, I wanted to do something special that I've been wanting to record for a while now. Figured today would be the perfect occasion. If you followed us from the beginning, or as you just heard from the man himself, you know my pal Jeremy started this podcast as a creative outlet in the midst of a pandemic. By the time the park first reopened, it was not easy for guests to get back into the magic. So, what did he do? Well, he decided he would take it upon himself to bring that magic to you at home by taking you with him on a weekly walkabout through the parks.

It might not have been a lifelong dream of his, but I think it was a necessary one. You know, as we discussed the idea from the beginning, I was 100% on board. I told him he had to make it happen because I felt, I guess we all felt, that it's what a lot of people needed to keep their heads and their hearts happy during this very tough time, myself included.

So as Jeremy's very much the Walt of our crew, I'd like to share in his honor the audio from One Man's Dream, the documentary film here at the studios. I'm so honored that Jeremy asked me to be a part of this journey from the beginning, and it's been exciting to see the growth of this little podcast and the ever-changing podcast that's always moving forward and uh before you hear from Walt let me just say thank you travelers um thanks to everybody who's supported and continue to support us with listens and likes and feedback of course thank you Jeremy for being a perfect host an amazing friend I love you buddy hashtag make it weird thanks to the rest of the family, Hunt, and of course Rick and Pete, for helping us keep this show on the road. Happy 100th walkabout.

And here is One Man's Dream. They say that Hollywood is a town built on dreams, and one of its greatest dreamers was Walt Disney. Walt believed that any hype could be scaled if you knew the secret of making dreams come true. Well, he certainly knew that secret. He touched the hearts of millions of people around the world. The story of Walt's life is truly an amazing one,

and no one can tell it better than Walt himself. My dad worked as a carpenter in the world's fire buildings. He eventually ended up in Chicago as a contractor. And he was doing that when I was born. December 16th, 1901. My dad made some money as a contractor. Then he wanted to get back to the the farm they finally ended up buying this farm in marceline missouri it was a beautiful farm but it was not the kind of farm to make them anyway

things got pretty tough on the farm sickness so my dad sold the farm, took the money, and went to Kansas City. And my dad bought this Kansas City Star route. And they gave me the route. I was about 9 or 10 when I started that. In winter we'd go out at 3.30 in the morning right after a blizzard or rain of blizzard. Or even pouring rain, it didn't matter. I did that for six years. It was tough. It seems that everywhere Walt's father turned, he found failure. And the constant struggle took its toll on the family.

One by one, the children began to leave home. Then came the day Walt woke up to find his best friend, his brother Roy, had gone as well. I can get in. He said, what is it? He said, an amateur. I was in Paris, 3rd of September, when Pershing pulled up. Paris, which had been this exciting thing with all these soldiers, I think suddenly it was the soldiers, you see. And I suddenly became very lonesome. So then I went in, put a request in to be discharged. So I hit Chicago, that's where my parents were living. And I said, Dad, I want to be an artist.

And my dad, he just couldn't buy that. So I pulled stakes and moved to Kansas City. Roy was in Kansas City working in a bank. One of the folks working with Roy said, say, I have a couple of friends that have an art shop. So I went up to these samples, and there were all these corny things I'd done in France. Well, my gosh, they hired me. I mean, right down the spot. So I put the camera home, and then I started experimenting. And I won't say. But then I went into the intensity film industry. So that was where I got started in the animation business.

So I figured if I had something with a novel flick, I might crack the market. But I still couldn't get anywhere with it. I'd fail. I learned a lot out of that. And I think it's important to have a good heart. Say you're looking for this. I packed all my worldly goods in a park board and suitcase. I went to Hollywood.

Arriving there with just $40 in my pocket from my Kansas City ventures. Now, my brother Roy was already in Los Angeles. Both of us were unemployed. We solved the problem by going into business for ourselves. We established the first animated cartoon studio in Hollywood. Walt's dream was finally coming true. He had his first commercial success, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. And Walt himself was lucky enough to marry the girl of his dreams, Lillian,

a pretty ink and paint girl who worked at his studio. Then he was dealt a tough blow. On a trip to New York City, he learned that through a contract loophole, he had lost ownership of Oswald. And to make matters worse, the distributor had signed away all of Walt's artists. Devastated, he headed back home to California. But something happened along the way that will change his world forever. Mickey Mouse came into our life. He popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood

at a time when the business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest end and disaster seemed right around the corner. His first actual screen appearance was at the Old Colony Theater in New York in Steamboat Willie. He was the first cartoon character to stress personality

and I thought of him from the first as a distinct individual. I did the voice. Hang on, pal! Here we go! Mickey was simply a little personality assigned to the purposes of laughter. Mickey fitted the need exactly. He brought in the money which saved the day.

He enabled us to explore our medium, and he paved the way for our more elaborate screen ventures. By nature, I'm an experimenter, so I had another idea which was plaguing my brain. It was the Silly Symphonies. It was a series without a central character. Every one of us was a new type of subject who gave us something to reach out and accomplish something different. Then we started distributing both Mickey Mouse and Sue Simpsons.

It was nip and tuck, get the money. Walt began to push himself and his artists. He worked day and night, and when he wasn't working, he was worrying about the future. Then the inevitable happened. In 1931, he suffered what he called a heck of a breakdown. So he took Lillian on the wall there. It was a short subject.

It was just a filler on any program. Now, if I can crack the feature for you, then I can do things. I had done a little story research on different fairy tales I might do and Snow White was one of them. I thought it was the perfect story. I had the heavy... It's a magic wishing apple. Now make a wish. I had the prince, the nigger, the romance. I had the sympathetic, the wariness of the baby. We started Snow White sometime in late 35, and we were on two years in the making.

We had the family fortune, we had everything wrapped up in Snow White. In fact, the banker, I think, was losing more sleep than I was. We had a big premiere in the Carly Circle Theater, a big, brilliant Hollywood premiere. All of Hollywood brass turned out for a cartoon.

The daddy of Snow White and the Seven Monks is going to be presented this beautiful statue. Isn't it great, Mr. Disney? Sure, it's beautiful. Aren't you proud of it, Mr. Disney? I'm so proud, I think I'll bust it. With the profits so wide, I built a studio.

Two years later, I was almost broke. But I had all these pictures of work. On Oak Hill? When you can't see, there are no stains on me. almost broke but had all these pictures of work There are no stains on me Sandy That taste good? That was when war came. The whole world was collapsing then.

So many of my boys went to the service. So I just practically stopped my feature production. That's all I could do. But after the war, there was quite a problem picking up the pieces to find and diversify them. The business would be the salvation of it. So I tried various things. I thought, well, you know, it's hard, too.

And I thought if I could get into the live end, there's things I could do. Stand by for engines. No, I never want to get up! Not bad, eh, Charlie? Let's open her up and see what she'll really do. I wanted to look at different types of things. I could say I could pull on my nose. I one of these pictures, but I had another one right

behind it that would hit. After a long concentration on live action and cartoon films, we decided to try something that would employ about every trick we learned in the making of films. Take a look! We would combine cartoon, live action,

and enormous fantasy, Mary Poppins. As the original Mary Poppins budget of five million dollars continued to grow, I never saw a sad face around the studio. Even my brother Roy was happy. This made me nervous. And the horrible thoughts struck me.

Suppose the staff had finally conceded that I knew what I was doing. Once again, Walt Disney reinvented family entertainment, creating many of the classics we still enjoy today. But even then, he wasn't finished. He had a bigger dream in mind. Well, it came about when my daughters were very young, and Saturday was always Daddy's Day with the two daughters. So we'd start out and try to go someplace with, you know, different things, and I would take them to the merry-go-round, and I took them different places. And as I'd sit there while them to the merry-ground, and I took them to different places.

As I'd sit there while they rode the merry-ground, did all these things, I felt that there should be something built, some kind of amusement enterprise built where the parents and the children could have fun together. So that's how Disneyland started. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true. have fun together. So that's how Disneyland started. Takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true.

We had everything mortgaged, including my family. I started with many ideas, threw them away, started all over again. Eventually evolved into what you see today as Disneyland. But it all started from a daddy with two daughters wondering where he could take them, where he could have a little fun with them too. Part means a lot to me in that something will never be finished, something that I can keep developing and adding to.

Not only can I add things, but even the trees will keep growing. The thing will get more beautiful every year. I know that if I did anything like the park I should have some kind of a medium like television to let the people know about it. The world is a carousel of color History, comedy, fantasy There's drama and birth There's old Mother Earth With all of her secrets to see The miracle of imagination

The marvels of earth, sea, and sky These wonders untold Are ours to behold in the funny world. The sunny world. The wonderful world. Of God. And now your host, Walt Disney. Today I want to share with you some of our ideas for Disney World. Here in Florida we have something special we never enjoyed at Disneyland.

A blessing of science. There's enough land here to hold all of the ideas and plans we could possibly imagine. Everything in this room may change time and time again as we move ahead. But the basic philosophy of what we're planning for Disney World is going to remain very much as it is right now. We know what our goals are. We know what we hope to accomplish. And believe me, it's the most exciting and challenging assignment we've ever tackled at Walt Disney Productions. Well, after 40 some odd years in the business,

my greatest reward I think is that I've had the public appreciate and accept what I've done all these years. That is a great reward. I think by this time, my staff, my group of executives are convinced that Walt is right and that quality will out. I think that will hang on after Disney. Walt Disney once said, I hope that we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse. But we know it was really all started by a man. A man with a dream.

And a mouse. Like a bull out of the blue, it steps in and sees you through when you upon the sky

your dreams come to you He's calling. as you listen to the hosts, some of our listeners, and some of the friends of the show, is that this has just been a fun journey. We're glad we're on it, and we are so glad that you are here on the journey with us. Thanks for listening every week.

Thanks for being there. Thanks for all the comments. Thanks for the interactions on Instagram. And mentioning that, that is where you can find us, the one and only place you can find our show. On the socials is at walkaboutwdw on Instagram. Please give us a follow over there, reach out, give us a message, tell us where you listen, how you found us, what you like. I would say what you don't, but maybe keep that to yourself. It's up to you. It's up to you. It's your call. But regardless, we will respond to every message that you send, and we appreciate them all. You can find all of our hosts on Instagram, and just listing them here briefly, you can find me, Jeremy, at Jeremy underscore Hunt underscore FL.

You can find Josh at The Steel with an E. You can find Rick at Optical Jedi. You can find Pete at Neverland Local and Chaney at Chaney Hunt. And we're going to end this episode as we've ended almost every episode prior by saying there is a great, big, beautiful tomorrow out there. We will see you in one of those in another episode of Walk About the World. Thanks, everybody. Bye-bye. © transcript Emily Beynon