Listen to the Episode:
Welcome to Episode 39 of the RetroWDW Podcast: “Hotel Plaza Boulevard” – We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows.
Corrections & Listener Mail
Corrections
Wayne in Alabama writes in about Walt Disney World / AAA Rest Area. We discuss this in a little more detail and also some billboards along the way. Wayne had an amazing techno tip from back in the day on how he recorded the WDW radio loop. This comment led us into a little bit of retro tech discussion.
We also heard from some listeners regarding the touch screens from Communicore. Todd & How take us into how they worked and how they differ compared to current touchscreens.
Listener Mail
- Wayne also reached out about a WDW Special, A Dream Come True. There is some great footage from Communicore in this special, so take a look.
- David was up next, bringing up two memories. One memory David brings up for discussion is the return hand stamp smell. Todd brings up an interesting hack to see your stamp…. Resort TV also comes up from the 1970s – We discuss early Resort TV and how people used to actually film the screen. This led to yet another retro tech discussion.Â
- John W. wrote in letting us know about a sad memory visiting WDW. He thought it was an indoor place that smelled of cheese. John asked about the radio station, which we mentioned earlier. Big thanks to Wayne for the audio on this!
Thank you for all the emails, tweets and comments you have sent our way. We try to respond to almost everything and do our best to pick unique questions for the show.Â
Questions, Comments & Concerns
We love feedback and hearing your memories!
Drop us a line at podcast@retrowdw.com or call us and leave a voice mail at 978-71-RETRO. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Audio Rewind
Our audio rewind this month turned out to be the music from The American Adventure! The winner is Brendan , winning the EPCOT Center Wheel Brochure by Kodak. Great job and thanks for playing along to everybody!
If you think you know the answer to this month’s audio rewind, email us! podcast@retrowdw.com – This month the winner will win a giant WDW Pencil!
All entries due 5/14/2018 and a random winner will be selected. Even if you don’t win, you will gain an entry into the NEW PRIZE POT!
Prize Pot
We are back with a new Prize Pot for 2018! Once again, we will be putting together tons of gifts & random items for our January – June 2018 Prize Pot. Every guess for our audio rewind each month gets you an entry for the Prize Pot. For the best odds of winning, be sure to take a guess every month, even if you do not know. Best of luck and here is what we have so far:
2018 Prize Pot #1
- EPCOT Poster Set
- RetroWDW Logo Embroidered Hat
- McFarkle Family Christmas Card created by our fan, Reese
- EPCOT Center Coin / Medallion
- Mickey Earforce One Balloon Pin
- Set of Retro Disney Pennants
Main Topic
Hotel Plaza Boulevard
We go back to Hotel Plaza Boulevard. Brian gets us started this month, taking us hotel by hotel. We learn quite a bit about this area that consists of seven hotels, not owned by The Walt Disney Company. One of the first items constructed ever on property was the Walt Disney World Preview Center. How actually visited this and gives us a little insight into what was here. Todd also gives some input on what was going on at this place.
Each hotel had it’s own theme and feel, which has been changed over the years. Brian gives us great detail on the infamous Michael Jackson suite and even where Bob Hope would stay. This area is almost a forgotten part of the WDW history and we really think you are going to enjoy everything Hotel Plaza Boulevard has to offer. There are so many random facts thrown out and you really get a feel of the 70s, 80s, and even 90s as we go into great detail of each property.
Watch the Project Florida Film (1971)
- Project Florida Film (1971) Part 1
- Project Florida Film (1971) Part 2
- Project Florida Film (1971) Part 3
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Some of Our Latest Designs
Next Month
- Join us next month as we head to The Magic Kingdom! The Swan Boats & The Skyway are coming on Episode 40 – which are no longer in existence. Please join us as we share some vintage footage and also some memories on these two lost attractions.
Another great episode! Curious: Is there a link to listen and/or download Wayne’s WDW radio loop?
I would lovveee to listen to the whole 20 mins of the wdw radio loop as well!
Me too!
Me three!
I stayed at the Royal Plaza in May 1976 for a few days. This was only weeks before my employment in the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village happened. I don’t remember anything particular about the stay there, it was nice and certainly adequate, but nothing to me compares to staying in one of Disney’s own resort hotels!
Regarding the Preview Center, it also served as kind of a cast member hub for those of us Disney employees who worked in the Lake Buena Vista area. I had two friends who worked in the Preview Center and one of them wrote the weekly Lake Buena Vista employee newsletter that was distributed every Friday; the Center also had employee Disney movie tickets that were free. The movies were shown over at The Walt Disney Story attraction on Main Street in the MK in the evenings when the park was closed to visitors.