Favorite Magical Moments

MouseStation 400 – Favorite Magical Moments

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Show run time 59:20

On today’s show, Mark and Mike celebrate the 400th episode and honor their previous show by remembering their favorite Magical Moments. Also, a new “@ the Station” comic, poll results and listener feedback.

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Let us hear from you!

Send in your suggestions, comments or tips via our email feedback form or via voicemail on our toll-free feedback line (1-866-939-2278).

We’ve put together a new listener survey to help us learn more about you and what you like most about this podcast. This one is much more targeted than the old Podtrac survey. Please take a few minutes to fill it out and let us know what you think.

If you want to contribute a story for our Tuesday Magical Moment segment (and possible inclusion in the Cast Place column here on MousePlanet), you can either use our email Magical Moment story form or the toll-free feedback line. (We love it when you use the voice mail system, because then we can play your call on the show!)

Feature: Favorite Magical Moments

Mark and Mike celebrate the 400th episode and honor their previous show by remembering their favorite Magical Moments. Also, a new “@ the Station” comic, poll results and listener feedback.

Mike’s first Magical Moment took place in February 2005 in Minneapolis, when he first met Mark (along with Jim Hill and Chuck Oberleitner) at a showing of Dream On, Silly Dreamer prior to the Walt Disney Company’s annual shareholder meeting. As they say, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Through his early writings at MousePlanet, Mark was able to make the acquaintance of former Imagineer George McGinnis. Spending time with George at Disneyland, including a memorable lunch with George’s son and Mark’s wife and son, was a special treat.

Mike’s next Magical Moment came with his two-week trip to Disneyland for a DECA conference at the time of Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary. He was able to to attend the special press events for the celebration under the auspices of the conference.

Mark’s second Magical Moment is the five MouseFest events that he attended, getting to meet and spend time with fellow Disney enthusiasts, including people who read his Walt Disney World Updates and listen to the show.

Mike’s third Magical Moment is also MouseFest, largely for the same reasons as Mark.

Mark’s next-to-top Magical Moment was attending two of the pilot tests of the E-Ticket Experience with his wife in 1997, once by themselves and one with friends. They enjoyed themselves like little kids with the park to themselves.

Mike’s top Magical Moment is actually a tie between being a cast member, where he got to be part of making the magic, and his Disney-themed wedding (which we’ve talked about on prior shows, with pictures posted on his Facebook page).

Mark’s top Magical Moment involves The Kid, and was told on the first episode of the Magical Moment Podcast. In February 2003, while riding the monorail to the Magic Kingdom for the first time of the trip, The Kid was watching out the window and got so excited about catching sight of Cinderella Castle that his enthusiasm got the entire monorail car smiling. After entering the Magic Kingdom, while members of their party dispersed to take care of locker and scooter rentals, Mark and The Kid found Meeko in Town Square and The Kid played and danced alone with Meeko for almost five minutes.

What do you think? You can let us know by sending us an email or calling our toll-free feedback line (1-866-939-2278)!

@ the Station

Sean Jones has rebooted the “@ the Station” comic strip. We’ll be featuring a new strip every couple of weeks or so. Here’s the first installment. Enjoy!

here.

Twitter/Facebook poll question

Mark finally posted the question on Twitter and Facebook last week, so we can finally move forward with it.

How old were you the first time you went to a Disney theme park?

via Facebook:

• 12
• 10
• Six years old and I lived in Tampa Bay area. There was only one park then!
• 11. It was 1976 and my family and my cousins all went together. What a great trip! Staying at the Contemporary, riding the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, my first ride on Space Mountain, watching my little sister freak out on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — Priceless!
• 27, but acted like a 7 year old
• First trip 25, liked it okay. Second trip at 30, the magic hit and I was hooked for life!
• 30!
• I was 1 back in 1971 when I went to Walt Disney World. The park had only been open a couple of months. For Disneyland I was 3, but since I was still too young to remember that trip as well and we have no photos of it, I have to take my parent’s word that it actually happened.
• 3 months, but I don’t remember that one! The first one I remember I was 3.
• 18! Took me 19 years to get back. Now it’s an annual thing!
• 12!
• 4… 1958
• 18. Feb 1973 at WDW
• I think I was 9. Went for thanksgiving and cant get enough WDW since!!
• 34
• 6, in 1969. I remember being scared on PotC
• 11 months.
• I was 11. We went to Walt Disney World the spring after it opened, so probably March of 1972. I’ll also answer for my kids. They both went when they were 1.
• 29. I married into this.
• Sadly 29 and I acted like I was 12 the whole time. Now at 34 I’m headed back for my 8th time in 5.5yrs. 244 days away.
• 12. Two years after the WDW opening! Loved River Country <3
• Age 3.
• 3 – I went opening year!
• In the womb!

via Twitter:

• Not sure. 2 years old? 3?
• I believe I was 2, but I HATED it!!!
• my youngest memory is being at WDW for America on Parade during a Bicentennial Celebration. I was 4 😉 but youngest has been going since she was 3 mos old. 😉
• 1
• 2 y.o. which probably explains the current addiction I suffer from.
• I think I was 5 on my first visit.
• 10 days old for my first visit
• 5 years old!
• 2, i think… might be 1.
• I went to Disneyland on my 4th birthday. It was absolutely wonderful, but I was so scared to ride many of the attractions, including Storybookland Canal Boats (Monstro was terrifying), the Haunted Mansion & the Disneyland Railroad (the dinosaurs in Primeval World!)
• I was 13 (1986) and according to our pictures short shorts were in! 🙂
• I was 3 months old first time I went to Walt Disney World. I’v grown up in the parks.
• 2 and a half, or so I’m told. Disneyland in 1956 or 57.
• Six, I think. Unless I’m making up the memory, we went when my family came to visit CA before moving permanently from NJ in 1976. I have definite memories of seeing America Sings, and listening to it on United Airlines in-flight audio on the flight home.
• First memories were of Bicentennial Celebration @Disneyland (age 7), but I believe my mom tells stories of pushing me in a stroller.
• 9 went to WDW in 71
• I don’t remember, as I was literally raised at Disneyland. As long as I can remember, I have always been going & it never gets old.
• I was 2 and stayed off site when I visited WDW for the 1st time…
• I was about 2 or 3 I think around ’77 or ’78 when I first went to Disneyland!
• 5
• Disneyland when I was 6 and remember riding adventurer through innerspace (I think that’s the name)
• 4 yrs old. 1976.
• I was told that I was less then a year old but the first time I actually remember is being 4 yrs old
• About 5. Yes, my parents took me out of school!
• Four years old is the magic age in my family… that was my age as well as my niece’s on her first trip.
• I was 17 when I first went to the magic kingdom, all the way from the uk.
• 22
• 8 yrs old
• Officially..30 years old. Unofficially..When I was 15 my Dad took me to Disneyland…couldn’t get in..closing time wasin 30 minutes
• 7 years old when I first set foot in a Disney Park – EPCOT Center (1986)
• First visit: 6 yrs old to Disneyland – visiting family in So. Cal. WDW – age 11 – grandma moved to Florida.

via Email:

• I was a deprived child. I was 32 the first time I visited the hallowed halls of Walt Disney World and it was love at first sight.

Mike’s first trip was at age 1, though his earliest memory is from years later when was being punished at Columbia Harbour House.

Mark’s first visit was at age 8, just a few months after Walt Disney World opened.

Next week’s question:

• If you were a D23 charter member, did you renew? If not, did you join? Why or why not?

What do you think?

Listener Feedback

Dan the Light Man called in to talk about this year’s movies that he can’t wait to see and also how he’s glad that he got to see Expedition Everest in the first year, before they stopped trying to fix the Yeti’s motion, leaving it to run in “B” mode most days.

Mary Tesch wrote in to give her opinion of the Old Key West as a response to the recent featured review of that resort. As with Mark, she loves the resort and doesn’t mind that most buildings don’t have an elevator. She (and Mark) have never had a problem getting a first floor room when desired.

Dean from New York City called in to give his opinion of Phineas & Ferb (that he’s never seen it), and wanted to raise a conflict related to why Donald Duck doesn’t wear pants, but he wears trunks while swimming.

Val wrote in to comment on the retheming of rooms at the Caribbean Beach Resort with a pirate theme. She also asked Mark and Mike what they thought about retheming rooms.

Kim Barron called to update us on her spring travel plans and to explain why she was not traveling with her friend Hope on the trip. She also mentioned that she was now cancer free for almost four years, which prompted Mark to recall meeting Kim at MouseFest 2006.

Stuart Sternberg called in to say that he was sorry to hear that the show was being cut back to once a week, but he understood our reasons for doing so.

March of Dimes

MousePlanet readers and MouseStation listeners have helped Mark to raise over $15,000 for the March of Dimes over the last four years to help save the lives of babies born prematurely. This year, his goal is to raise another $5,000. But that’s not all! This year, you can walk with Mark, either in person or virtually, by joining Team MousePlanet! Mike has already signed on to walk as well. You can go to Mark’s fundraising page to sponsor him, Mike’s fundraising page to sponsor him, or the Team MousePlanet page to join in and walk yourself! Help us to provide a better chance to prevent prematurity and to help those babies that are born prematurely, because new parents should take their babies home from the hospital, not to the cemetery.

Program Note

Due to time and availability issues, beginning next week, the MouseStation will broadcast once per week, on Thursdays, at least temporarily.

Wrapping up

We’ve put together a new listener survey to help us learn more about you and what you like most about this podcast. This one is much more targeted than the old Podtrac survey. Please take a few minutes to fill it out and let us know what you think.

Don’t forget to go to the iTunes podcast directory and give us a good rating for the combined feed!

You can get your MousePlanet (or MouseStation) swag from the MousePlanet CafePress store and the MouseStation CafePress store. If you’ll be walking in the March for Babies or CHOC Walk; running the Walt Disney World Marathon, the Disneyland Half Marathon or any other endurance event; or even just trying to keep fit, you can also get your Team MousePlanet running wear from our Team MousePlanet Zazzle store!

Also remember to go out to our main podcast page and stick a pin into our Frappr map.

Thanks to our audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng.

Thank you for listening!

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