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In today's show, Mark and Mike look at some of their favorite episodes - and some ideas that never made it, plus more Twitter/Facebook polls.
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Today's show is sponsored by:
Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. A luxury hotel one mile from Walt Disney World, where special MousePlanet rates ALWAYS get you at least 15% off the normal rates available for the property, and right now you can get rates as low as $129 per night – that's about what you'd pay for a Disney moderate resort!
Advantage Vacation Homes. A great vacation home rental company that gives you a place to stay with lots more space than a regular hotel room for a lot less money.
We opened with a special montage of guest introductions that we've had over the course of the show.
Mark and Mike presented some of the alternate openings and show themes that didn't make the cut when we were coming up with ideas for the show. We think we made the right decision.
Mark and Mike look at their Top 3 favorite episodes in three different categories: discussions, interviews and – of course – Top 3 lists.
Mike picked Episode 14: Same Sex Fairy Tale Weddings as his number three choice because it sparked so much feedback from our listeners.
Mark's third pick is Episode 121: The (De-)Evolution of Downtown Disney, as it sparked a lot of listener feedback and proved quite prescient in predicting the demise of Pleasure Island.
Mike's second choice is Episode 1: Year of a Million Dreams because it was a great discussion, and as we revisited the issues our attitudes sort of moved toward the middle for each of us.
Mark's number two is Episode 117: Our First Time, where we were joined by Steven Ng, because he rarely has occasion to talk about his first visit back in 1972 and it was nice to try to put himself back in that time. It was also great to listen to Mike and Steven's first trips, as they were all at different times and different ages.
Mike and Mark agreed on their top pick, Episode 249: Kungaloosh! A Tribute to the Adventurers Club (with Bonus Audio track!), where we were joined by Andrew Rich to talk about a place that meant a great deal to all three of us. We all felt very strongly about it, and we wanted to do it justice. The fact that we were able to include segments of Mark's interviews with some of the cast members and the fact that we recorded the show right after Mark returned from the last weekend of the Club just made it that much better. Mark is still trying to figure out if he can make it down to either of the "last night" events at the club, with WDW Radio and Con-Galoosh.
Mike made Episode 16: Meet the Guidebook Authors his number three choice because he recorded it live on the Disney Wonder, during his first MouseFest as a podcaster, and it was also the last piece of audio that we used from the Magical Moment Podcast archives.
Mark's third pick is a tie between Episodes 208 and 212: Mark Silverman, voice of Rod Serling Parts 1 and 2, and the bonus audio track from Episode 249: Kungaloosh! A Tribute to the Adventurers Club (with Bonus Audio track!). Mark feels that the interviews running as bonus audio count separate from the discussion show. Mark Silverman was such a great interview and we had a lot of fun with him.
Mike's second choice is Episodes 208 and 212: Mark Silverman, voice of Rod Serling Parts 1 and 2, because it was a fun interview, though the night that we recorded Mike had to take some time off to talk to the police, as his car had just been stolen. Mark will see if we can get him back on the show soon.
Mark's number two is Episode 9: First Family, where we interviewed Angie and Brian Davis, the parents of the family that won the Good Morning, America contest to spend a night in the castle before the first night was awarded in the parks. It was extra special not only because we were doing the interview from four locations (Mark, Mike and Angie in their respective homes in the U.S. and Brian from Iraq), but because Angie and Brian were not previously familiar with Skype and they were able to use Skype to talk to each other between Iraq and home afterward.
Mike's top pick is Episode 261: Ray Mercer of The Lion King on Broadway. Ray is a great guy, it was an awesome interview, it helped to talk about Broadway Cares – Equity Fights AIDS, and it was about The Lion King.
Mark's number one is the last interview from Episode 4: Walt Disney World's International Press Event. Mark loves the fact that he was able to get Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto all together at the same time, and that they agreed to sing "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" while Mickey played the ukelele.
Mike picked Episode 65: Epcot as his number three choice.
Mark's third pick is Episode 243: Yester World, because it gave him a chance to think about all of those attractions that he loved and are no longer around.
Mike's second choice is Episodes 149, 165 and 185: Resorts, parts 1, 2 and 3, because he's a resorts guy and he loves talking about the resorts.
Mark's number two is Episode 259: Theme Park Music because he's just a theme park music geek.
Mike's top pick is Episode 243: Yester World because he loves the old attractions and misses them a lot. It reminds him of some of the early trips to Walt Disney World with his family.
Mark's number one is Episode 113: Disney's Animal Kingdom because it was the genesis of the Simba/Nemo feud.
What do you think? Let us know by sending us an email or calling our toll-free feedback line (1-866-939-2278)!
As we promised during the Listener Feedback segment on Tuesday, here's the poster that listener Justin Hilden came up with for us. Click for a larger version.
We're continuing our new trial of spending the Thursday Listener Feedback time reviewing the responses to some questions that Mark was asking on Twitter and Facebook last week. If you'd like to get in on answering these questions in the future, you can follow Mark on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.
Due to scheduling, Mark asked the question twice. First, after reminding people Last Thursday that MouseAdventure Walt Disney World registration opened the next day, Mark asked: In view of the fact that registration opens tomorrow, today's question is: Are You Game? Do you plan to sign up to play MouseAdventure WDW?
On Friday, after registration opened, Mark asked: So who has already registered for MouseAdventure Walt Disney World?
Response was less than overwhelming. In answer to Thursday's question, we had:
In response to Friday's question, we got:
Mike and Mark will both be working MouseAdventure, and are really excited to finally be having a full game at Walt Disney World, after four years of mini-MouseAdventures.
The second question drew a huge response. On Monday, Mark asked: If Disney were building a new resort hotel at WDW (inadvisable in this economy, but play along), what should the theme be?
Again, if you'd like to get in on answering these questions in the future, you can follow Mark on Twitter or friend him on Facebook.
The very end of the show had Mark and Mike presenting some of the alternate closings and tag lines that didn't make the cut when we were coming up with ideas for the show.
Mark was recently named the top walker for the March of Dimes Northeastern New York region for 2008, and second overall in Upstate New York (above the counties of Westchester and Rockland). MousePlanet readers and MouseStation listeners helped Mark to raise over $5,000 for the worthy charity. We're looking to beat that this year and raise $6,000! Just go to Mark's fundraising page and help to provide a better chance to prevent prematurity and to help those babies that are born prematurely.
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Don't forget that registration is now open for MouseAdventure Walt Disney World! Get your team ready now!
We've left last year's listener survey open to help us learn more about you and what you like most about this podcast. Please take a few minutes to fill it out and let us know what you think.
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Thanks to our audio engineer and sound editor Steven Ng.
Thank you for listening!
(Send an email to MouseStation Crew)
The MouseStation crew (@MouseStation) currently consists of Mark Goldhaber (@MPMark) and Mike Demopoulos (@MPMike).
