Stories of the Magic

Music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer.

Posted in Authors, Cast Members, Podcast, Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney World | Leave a comment

Episode 053 – Suzannah Mitchell, Part 2

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Randy Crane

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Interview Guest: Suzannah Mitchell

(Zannaland)

In this episode, we conclude our 2-part interview with creator of the Zannaland website and former Walt Disney World Cast Member Suzannah Mitchell. In the first part, we had a great conversation about her time as a Cast Member, why Disney means so much to her, her first visit to Disneyland, creating her Zannaland website, and becoming a member of the Disney Moms Panel. This time we’re going to pick up where we left off talking about the Moms Panel.

But first, speaking of audio and my book, Faith and the Magic Kingdom, I have a special gift for you as a listener to Stories of the Magic. In preparation for the release of the book, I created a 1-hour audio walking tour of Disneyland. Come with me as stroll around the park and I share some valuable reminders and insights to help you look at the park, and some parts of your life, with new eyes. Originally this was available only to people who bought the book during the Launch, but now I’m making it available to you as a free download for the month of April. No strings. Nothing to fill out or sign up for. Just go to storiesofthemagic.com/faithaudiotour. That’s a direct link to the file to download it.

In this episode, Suzannah talks about…

The first event she was invited to as “Media”;
How she got connected to other people in the Disney community;
Whether she prefers writing or talking about things—including a mention of her Moms Panel video (and yes, I have a link to it);
What it was like actually being on the Moms Panel;
Being the Social Media and Office Manager for Mouse Fan Travel;
If she could have any job working for the Walt Disney Company, what it would be and why;
A couple of tips she has for guests to Walt Disney World;
Whether some of the resources available to help guests understand and explore the details are good for a first-time guest, or better for repeat guests;
Some tour suggestions;
Her favorite things from early Epcot;
Meeting Dreamfinder and Figment when she was a little girl, and as an adult meeting Ron Schneider and talking to him about those memories;
What inspires her;
Her advice to you for following your dreams, especially if they involve blogging or podcasting;
Shameless Plug Time.

Find Suzannah Online:

Faith and the Magic Kingdom:

(Note: all product links are affiliate links.)

Podcasts Spotlighted in this Episode:

If you want to submit a story anonymously, for whatever reason you may have, email it to me and tell you me you wanted it shared that way. I’ll read it on the podcast, but keep your name private.

Thanks for listening!

Music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer.

Posted in Blogger, Cast Members, Disney Moms Panel, Podcast, Walt Disney World | Leave a comment

Episode 052 – Suzannah Mitchell, Part 1

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Randy Crane

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Subscribe: Android | RSS

Stories of the Magic, Episode 52

Interview Guest: Suzannah Mitchell

In this episode, we begin a 2-part interview with creator of the ZannaLand website and former Walt Disney World Cast Member Suzannah Mitchell. We had a great talk about her time as a Cast Member, creating and running ZannaLand, being on the Disney Moms Panel, what she really wanted to do for Disney, and more.

In this episode, Suzannah talks about…

How she got started working for Disney and what she did;
Being one of the first people to work at the Main Street Athletic Club;
What it felt like to be in Disney’s Traditions class;
Getting her name tag;
Moving back up north and working at the Disney Store—and how different that was from working in the parks;
Moving back to Florida and finally getting the job she’d wanted all along;
Having to give that job up sooner than she’d have liked;
Why Disney, especially the Disney parks, mean so much to her;
The first time she remembers thinking, “I’m really part of this!”—it’s one of her most treasured memories;
Her first visit to Disneyland;
What she loved most about working for Disney;
A couple of in-park stories;
How Zannaland came to be;
Becoming a member of the Disney Moms Panel.

Find Suzannah Online:

Faith and the Magic Kingdom:

(Note: all product links are affiliate links.)

Podcasts Spotlighted in this Episode:

If you want to submit a story anonymously, for whatever reason you may have, email it to me and tell you me you wanted it shared that way. I’ll read it on the podcast, but keep your name private.

Thanks for listening!

Music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer.

Posted in Blogger, Cast Members, Disney Moms Panel, Podcast, Walt Disney World | Leave a comment

Episode 051 – Sam Gennawey, Part 2

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Randy Crane

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Subscribe: Android | RSS

Sam Gennawey

Stories of the Magic, Episode 51

Interview Guest: Sam Gennawey

Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com – get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at audibletrial.com/StoriesoftheMagic. There’s over 150,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player—and one in particular that I really hope you’ll choose, but I’ll tell you about that later.

This time, we conclude our 2-part interview with author, speaker, urban planner, and Disney historian Sam Gennawey. In part 1 we talked about how he became interested in Disneyland, how he uses the park to explain urban planning concepts to people, Disneyland as “Walt’s souvenir bucket” from his travels, why he decided to write Walt and the Promise of Progress City and the two purposes of it, Walt’s vision for Epcot the city and his interest in 3-dimensional design, what “a sense of place” means and how it affects guests, the writing of Sam’s second book, The Disneyland Story, and more.

In this episode, we pick up with a story he was telling about some famous trees, and then

Sam talks about…

Some insights on the history and changes of Fantasyland;
The practice wall;
New Orleans Square as Disney’s first representation of a real live place;
Why the PeopleMover was designed and built;
The two budgets for each attraction, especially in Walt’s time;
The difference between the idea for how lands were originally created and what they’re doing now—and how this is more similar to Universal Studios than the way Walt did things;
Understanding how generational changes affect the use of space;
If Disney were to decide to do a Marvel Land or a Star Wars Land, what they have to keep in mind to do it right and do it well;
How “a sense of place” is the secret to Disneyland—and the original virtual reality machine;
Disneyland as “a giant salad”, as described by Rolly Crump;
The subjects he’s generally invited to speak on;
His presentation at the Walt Disney Family Museum about Mineral King, and why it was so much fun;
A brief tribute to Diane Disney Miller;
Something he never gets to talk about—some of the ways Tomorrowland was testing new technology that most people never realized, and giving credit to Bill Martin;
What inspires him;
His advice to you for following your dreams;
Shameless Plug Time.

Find Sam Online:

Faith and the Magic Kingdom:

DisneylandDevotional.com
On Audible (bit.ly/faithmkaud2)
Remember, you only have until 11:59 p.m. PT March 18.2014 to enter to win a copy of the audiobook!

(Note: all product links are affiliate links.)

Podcasts Spotlighted in this Episode:

Anomaly

If you want to submit a story anonymously, for whatever reason you may have, email it to me and tell you me you wanted it shared that way. I’ll read it on the podcast, but keep your name private.

Thanks for listening!