Episode 024 – Jennifer McGill, Part 2

 Jennifer McGill

Stories of the Magic, Episode 24

 

Interview Guest: Jennifer McGill

 

 

Sponsored by Leaving Conformity Coaching.

 

In this episode, we continue my chat with Jennifer McGill. Last time, we talked about how she got started working for Disney, and being part of the New Mickey Mouse Club, what else she did for Disney, this time as a Walt Disney World Cast Member in the Voice of Liberty and Tarzan Rocks, and more, a couple of memorable in-park experiences from her days in the Mickey Mouse Club, including riding Tower of Terror with Christina Aguilera, what it was like being a student while working on the Mickey Mouse Club (you’ll be amazed at what she had to do her junior year in high school), and much more!

 

In this one, we backtrack a little bit so you can hear the end of last week’s section to keep the flow of stories. After this part of the interview, I’ll play another clip from This Little Light, performed by Jennifer, as I did last week.

 

Jennifer talks about:

  • How she keeps a balance between work and play on her jobs;
  • How she got connected with several of the jobs she’s had over the years;
  • What she loved most about what she did, including her favorite role for Disney;
  • What it was like to perform in the rotunda of the American Adventure building;
  • Her “residual pixie dust” from being on the Mickey Mouse Club…even years later;
  • How she tries to stay humble…and how she balances that with having confidence in yourself;
  • Tarzan Rocks;
  • Her performing career after Disney, including dinner theater, cover bands & party bands, cruise ships, The Holy Land Experience, and being the Praise & Worship Coordinator at her church—and what she learned from them;
  • The new album she’s working on;
  • The Disney job she would most love to have.

 

Find Jennifer:

 

Podcasts Spotlighted in this Episode:

 

I want to hear from you, so please email me, leave a comment below, or call the Listener Feedback line at (734) 23-STORY.

 

If you call in, don’t worry about having to sound perfect. If you ask me to, I’ll edit out any mistakes so you sound as good as you possibly can. You’re even welcome to start your entire story over again and I’ll use the “take” you want!

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!

Subscribe by RSS.

Subscribe in iTunes.

Subscribe on Stitcher Radio.

 

Music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer.

Posted in Cast Members, Music, Podcast, Television, Walt Disney World | 2 Comments

Episode 023 – Jennifer McGill, Part 1

 Jennifer McGill

Stories of the Magic, Episode 23

 

Interview Guest: Jennifer McGill

 

 

Sponsored by Leaving Conformity Coaching.

 

This week, we finally get to begin our interview with Jennifer McGill. Jennifer got her start with Disney as one of the original Cast Members of the New Mickey Mouse Club, which first aired in 1989 and ran for seven seasons. She has some wonderful stories from her time on the show, and after it as she came back and worked for Disney again later. We had such a wonderful time talking—and I trust you’ll have just as great a time listening, that this episode is actually the first of three parts! After the interview, enjoy a clip from her song, This Little Light.

 

I got a new computer earlier this month and this was my first interview using the new computer. A lot was better about it, but there are still a couple of technical issues I’m working on resolving, so the audio may be a bit off. There are a few places where my audio stepped on hers and times where my voice sounds odd—thankfully, here’s sound pretty good, though. I minimized it as much as I could, but it’s still in there now and then. I apologize for that and I’m working on resolving those issues for future interviews.

 

Jennifer talks about:

  • How she got started working for Disney, and being part of the New Mickey Mouse Club;
  • The film she was almost cast in;
  • How the Mickey Mouse Club prepared and shaped her as a high-caliber performer;
  • What else she did for Disney, this time as a Walt Disney World Cast Member in the Voice of Liberty and Tarzan Rocks, and more;
  • What she did in Magic Music Days, and more information about what that is;
  • A couple of memorable in-park experiences from her days in the Mickey Mouse Club, including riding Tower of Terror with Christina Aguilera;
  • The picture that started her career, and her hobby as a 7-year-old that led to her casting;
  • What changed in the way she approaches casting calls and performances;
  • The first time she consciously realized she was doing something special;
  • What it was like being a student while working on the Mickey Mouse Club (you’ll be amazed at what she had to do her junior year in high school);
  • Transitioning into “normal life” for the first time in almost a decade.

 

Find Jennifer:

 

Important Announcement:

  • I have a new book that’s just been published! It’s called Once Upon YOUR Time: 7 Strategies for Gaining Control of Your Time through a Tour of the Magic Kingdom. In it, I use Disneyland as an example giving illustrations of key strategies to help you gain-or re-gain-control of your time.  If you’re a Disney fan, especially of Disneyland, and you’re looking for some way to recapture time that seems to constantly slip away, you need this book. It’s available as a paperback book, a Kindle book, and a PDF, depending on your preference. Go to storiesofthemagic.com/time to find out how to get your copy today!

 

 

Podcasts Spotlighted in this Episode:

 

I want to hear from you, so please email me, leave a comment below, or call the Listener Feedback line at (734) 23-STORY.

 

If you call in, don’t worry about having to sound perfect. If you ask me to, I’ll edit out any mistakes so you sound as good as you possibly can. You’re even welcome to start your entire story over again and I’ll use the “take” you want!

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!

Subscribe by RSS.

Subscribe in iTunes.

Subscribe on Stitcher Radio.

 

Music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer.

Posted in Cast Members, Music, Podcast, Television, Walt Disney World | 1 Comment

Episode 022 – Nate Parrish, Part 3

 Nate Parrish, WEDWay Radio

Stories of the Magic, Episode 22

 

Interview Guest: Nate Parrish

 

 

Sponsored by Leaving Conformity Coaching.

 

This week, we have something very interesting. Usually I do the interviews as a single conversation, and then break them up into two episodes. But as you may recall, I interviewed Nate twice. The first time was part 1. The second time was part 2 and this part. So, consider this part 2 of part 2, part 2b, part 3, or whatever you want to call it.

 

In this episode we back up just a bit into the end part of the previous part of the interview, and then move into talking about an organization that, if you’re a Disney fan, especially of Walt Disney himself and his early years in cartooning, you should definitely learn more about: Thank You Walt Disney. Luckily, Nate tells you a lot about them, and hopefully after you finish hearing him talk about it you’ll want to support the work they’re doing.

 

Nate talks about:

 

Find Nate:

 

Important Announcements:

  • Laura Dickinson has her first solo show coming up in Los Angeles at Rockwell Table and Stage December 10th at 8:00 p.m. To get more details and to buy tickets, go to storiesofthemagic.com/laura2012 and that’ll link you directly to the Facebook event page.

 

 

Podcasts Spotlighted in this Episode:

 

I want to hear from you, so please email me, leave a comment below, or call the Listener Feedback line at (734) 23-STORY.

 

If you call in, don’t worry about having to sound perfect. If you ask me to, I’ll edit out any mistakes so you sound as good as you possibly can. You’re even welcome to start your entire story over again and I’ll use the “take” you want!

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!

Subscribe by RSS.

Subscribe in iTunes.

Subscribe on Stitcher Radio.

 

Music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer.

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

Episode 021 – Nate Parrish, Part 2

 Nate Parrish, WEDWay Radio

Stories of the Magic, Episode 21

 

Interview Guest: Nate Parrish

 

 

Sponsored by Leaving Conformity Coaching.

 

In this episode of Stories of the Magic, I’m delighted to bring to you part 1 of my second interview with Nate Parrish. Nate started as a guest, transitioned into being a Cast Member, and now is back to being a guest, but with a new level of appreciation and insight. Disney is so much a part of who he is that he not only visits, he podcasts. Be sure to check out Episode 12 of Stories of the Magic for Part 1!

 

Nate talks about:

  • Why he loves Disney in general;
  • What it is about Walt Disney that’s such a strong draw for him;
  • What he thinks of some of the Walt Disney biographies out there;
  • Podcasting! (Both “behind-the-scenes”, and tips for new podcasters)

 

Find Nate:

Podcasts Spotlighted in this Episode:

 

I want to hear from you, so please email me, leave a comment below, or call the Listener Feedback line at (734) 23-STORY.

 

If you call in, don’t worry about having to sound perfect. If you ask me to, I’ll edit out any mistakes so you sound as good as you possibly can. You’re even welcome to start your entire story over again and I’ll use the “take” you want!

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!

Subscribe by RSS.

Subscribe in iTunes.

Subscribe on Stitcher Radio.

 

Music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer.

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

Episode 020 – Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

 

 

Stories of the Magic, Episode 20

 

Interview Guest: All Listener Stories!

 

 

 

Sponsored by Leaving Conformity Coaching.

 

Welcome to the Stories of the Magic Thanksgiving show for 2012!

You may notice that this episode is up a bit later in the day than usual, and that it isn’t quite up to my usual standards for volume levels and audio quality. It’s not bad–actually I think it’s pretty good–but I chose to spend time with my family on Thanksgiving, which meant devoting a little less time than usual to the audio processing. I hope you still enjoy it!

 

This episode is all stories and memories from Disney guests/customers. Thank you to everyone who provided something for me to share. If you didn’t, there’s always next year!

 

Stories and memories provided by:

The link to the MyTravelSite trip report from my Disney Wonder cruise.

The video from Dotti’s story. You’ll love this!

 

Podcast Spotlighted in this Episode:

 

I want to hear from you, so please email me, leave a comment below, or call the Listener Feedback line at (734) 23-STORY.

 

If you call in, don’t worry about having to sound perfect. If you ask me to, I’ll edit out any mistakes so you sound as good as you possibly can. You’re even welcome to start your entire story over again and I’ll use the “take” you want!

 

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!

 

Subscribe by RSS.

Subscribe in iTunes.

Subscribe on Stitcher Radio.

Custom music and voiceovers provided by Rick Moyer. Other music copyright The Walt Disney Company.

Posted in Cast Members, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, Listener Feedback, Podcast, Thanksgiving, Walt Disney World | Leave a comment