Podcast Episode 87.5: Interview With Jim “Mr. Christmas” Heffelfinger

This mini-episode is a compliment to our 2022 holiday episode.  We promised we’d eventually track down the fellow responsible for bringing the Lights of Winter to EPCOT Center.  Brian and Todd talk to Jim Heffelfinger whose 20 year career with Walt Disney World began as stage manager at the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review at Pioneer Hall (where he met and shares a great story about our friend Billy Flanigan). Over the next two decades he...Read More...

Podcast Episode 80: Holiday Time at Walt Disney World

Every December, we take a trip back in time as we always do, but we focus on the holiday season and how it took place at Walt Disney World. Christmas, New Years, and all the other December celebrations have always offered up unique experiences and sometimes once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for resort and park guests. We begin with personal stories, traditions, and even gifts we received over the years. Read More...

It’s Time for the Christmas Parade

Merry Christmas from RetroWDW! Last week, we featured the 1983 Christmas parade on our live stream. Hosted by Joan Lunden and Michael Douglas, you can watch the parade on our YouTube channel here: But we have two more parades to share today! And of course, the original commercials are included. Here is 1985’s parade, hosted by Joan Lunden and Ben Vareen, where viewers can get a sneak peak at Captain EO and the Living Seas! And...Read More...

LBVHistory Announces 2021 Holiday Ornament: The Season Greetings Studio Tower

The team at The Lake Buena Vista Historical Society has been hard at work creating a special holiday ornament for 2021! We present the Season Greetings Studio Tower! Donate to Reserve your Tower!     The tower is cast resin and plastic and features a metallic green base and a metallic red hat. The tower stands a proud 4.8 inches (12.2cm) tall! Can easily be displayed on a desk, shelf, or hung from your favorite tree or...Read More...

Celebrate Christmas in July

Welcome to Christmas in July from RetroWDW! To celebrate, today we have three videos from our archives to share. First, from Walt Disney World in 1978, is this TV special featuring Shields & Yarnell making their way from Los Angeles to Orlando for a visit to Walt Disney World. A performance by band Pablo Cruise on Bay Lake follows and appearances by Phyllis Diller, Andrea McArdle, and Danielle Spencer are made in this one hour special....Read More...

Podcast Episode 54: A Very ’90s Christmas

Christmas and the holiday season is upon us, which means more specials! We are getting into three different shows; The Walt Disney World Christmas Very Merry Parade from 1993, A Musical Christmas at WDW from 1993 and finally the 1995 Very Merry Christmas Parade. The specials and shows always seem to be plentiful around the holidays, so we get to discuss them in great detail.  If you would like to follow along as we discuss so…Read More...

Holiday Specials of the 90s

If 2020 is the year of ‘video’ for RetroWDW, then we need to start right now for the holiday season. On our upcoming podcast, we tackle three different Christmas specials that Disney released in the earlier part of the 90s. These three VHS rips really take you back to when Disney did the shows live and Regis Philbin was on top of his game. We have the Very Merry Christmas Parade from 1993 & 1995. This...Read More...

Podcast Episode 45: Holiday Potluck

In this episode we talk about Christmas time in the Vacation Kingdom of the World. Starting us off, Brian takes us through this vintage VHS. This was sold alongside the other VHS tapes - A Day at The Magic Kingdom, A Day at EPCOT Center, and A Day at Disney MGM Studios. We discuss how Santa takes us on a journey, throughout the resort, about what is done for Christmas at WDW. There are some hidden…Read More...

Podcast Episode 35: Christmas Around The World – Part II

Brian takes the lead this month for another amazing round of Christmas Around the World. Part 1 took place way back in 2015 on Episode 14. We discuss the 1978 special in detail this month, which offers up an amazing look at lots of our favorite vintage things at WDW.  We highly recommend you take a look either before or after you listen to this episode.  We go into such great detail about everything from Shields…Read More...