WDW Radio: Your Guide to the Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise and More Disney Magic!

Lou Mongello - Disney Expert
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Mar 30, 2026 • 55min

861 · Daredevil Born Again Season 2: Spoiler-Free Review

861 · Daredevil Born Again Season 2: Spoiler-Free ReviewIs this the Marvel show that changes everything?What stood out after watching Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 wasn’t what I expected - and having seen the full season early thanks to Marvel Studios screeners, I couldn’t wait to talk about it.In this spoiler-free Daredevil Born Again Season 2 review, I’m sharing what stayed with me most… and why this one feels different in a way that’s hard to ignore.This episode was recorded during this week’s WDW Radio LIVE show, where we opened it up to real-time conversation with the community - because the best way to talk about a show like this is together.We cover:- What immediately sets the tone in Episode 1, “The Northern Star” - The evolving dynamic between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk - and why it operates on so many levels at once - Why Season 2 feels more grounded, more restrained, and more character-driven - What makes Daredevil connect far beyond the action - Community reactions and first impressions from the WDW Radio LIVE audience If you loved the original Netflix series, this season is going to mean a lot to you. And if you're just looking for a show that pulls you in and keeps you thinking long after it's over... this might be the one.Subscribe to WDW Radio and join us live every Wednesday at approximately 7:30 PM Eastern on Facebook and YouTube. Find the full community at WDWRadio.com/Clubhouse.
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Mar 23, 2026 • 2h 9min

860 · Inside World of Frozen Disneyland Paris - Disney Adventure World

860 · Inside World of Frozen Disneyland Paris - Disney Adventure WorldDisney Adventure World and World of Frozen may represent the biggest shift in Disney Parks design we’ve seen in years... and you can feel it from the very first step.Something felt different the moment we stepped onto Adventure Way.Before the gates even opened to the public, Lou Mongello was invited inside Disney Adventure World - the bold $2.3 billion transformation of Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris - for an exclusive preview of World of Frozen.And what he experienced may signal an entirely new era for Disney Parks.In this episode, we go deep on everything - from the sweeping scale of Arendelle to the emotional impact of the Cascade of Lights nighttime spectacular... a free-roaming Olaf animatronic powered by AI and built in months, not years... and a baby troll puppet named Mossie who might just be the breakout star of the entire land.You’ll hear honest impressions of the dining, the details hidden in plain sight, and why Frozen Ever After here feels different from its EPCOT counterpart... plus why Adventure Way, with its original Abbey Road orchestral score, may be the most intentional entry experience Disney has ever created.Key Takeaways:Why World of Frozen feels like stepping into the film itselfThe Olaf AI technology that made a crowd of Disney pros gaspHow Disney Adventure World has finally found its identity as a full-day destinationWhat Lion King land and the future of Adventure Bay mean for every Disney fanThis is the episode that might just make you book your trip to Disneyland Paris!📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com📬 Stay Connected:- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube 🎧 Explore More:WDWRadio.com - Blog, archives, podcasts, and moreWDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewardsWDWRadioLIVE.com - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nightsEvents & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!LouMongello.com - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.🙏 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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Mar 10, 2026 • 1h 48min

859 · EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival Sweet 16 Bracket-Style Tournament

Zach Brown, hungry commentator and festival food personality, and Lisa DeNerdoglaster, Disney photographer and family-friendly foodie, join Lou to tour EPCOT’s Sweet 16 desserts. They sample cereal milk shakes, frushi, creamsicle bars, parfaits, and more. Short, spirited tastings lead to bracket-style showdowns, surprises, and a crowned favorite among global festival treats.
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Mar 2, 2026 • 1h 43min

857 · 50+ Disney Cruise Line Insider Hacks | The Ultimate Guide

Beci (Becky) Mahnken, cruise expert with Mouse Fan Travel who helps families plan Disney Cruise Line vacations. She shares 50+ insider hacks. Hear how to score the lowest fares, stateroom and upgrade tricks, dining and secret snack moves, smart spa and port strategies, hidden lounges and late-night treats, plus practical app, packing, and boarding timing tips.
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Feb 23, 2026 • 1h 23min

857 · Top Ten Extinct Walt Disney World Experiences We'd Bring Back

857 · Top Ten Extinct Walt Disney World Experiences We'd Bring Back Some of the most powerful memories you have from Walt Disney World probably aren’t tied to a single attraction.They’re tied to something else.This week, in Episode 857, we’re counting down our Top Ten Extinct Walt Disney World Experiences We’d Bring Back. No rides allowed. No $2 ticket books. Just the details, the atmosphere, the in-between moments that quietly changed how the parks felt.These weren’t headliners.They weren’t rope drop priorities.But somehow… they became part of our story.From the unexpected to the emotional to the “Oh wow, I forgot about that,” this list is going to spark memories... and maybe a little debate.And as you listen, I want you building your own list.Because I guarantee at least one of yours won’t be on mine.Join the conversation, share what you’d bring back, and be part of the community at WDWRadio.com.📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com📬 Stay Connected:- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube 🎧 Explore More:WDWRadio.com - Blog, archives, podcasts, and moreWDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewardsWDWRadioLIVE.com - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nightsEvents & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!LouMongello.com - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.🙏 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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Feb 9, 2026 • 1h 24min

856 · I Just Got Off a Call With Disney’s New CEO, Josh D’Amaro

856 · I Just Got Off a Call With Disney’s New CEO, Josh D’Amaro...Disney just named only its ninth CEO in more than 100 years, and days later, I found myself on a video call with Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro.In this episode, I share what that on-the-record conversation revealed about Josh’s leadership style, his Josh D’Amaro Disney CEO leadership vision, and his commitment to remaining accessible to fans and Cast Members even as his role expands. We talk about why so many people feel a personal connection to Josh, and how that authenticity shapes the way he leads.We also explore why the pairing of Josh as CEO and Dana Walden as President and Chief Creative Officer may be one of the most important structural decisions Disney has made since the Bob Iger era - and why this leadership design matters more than the title change itself.We discuss what this moment means for Disney Parks, storytelling, technology, Cast Members, and the Disney fan community, and why this doesn’t feel like a simple succession, but the beginning of a more unified Disney.This is an honest, thoughtful look at the Josh D’Amaro Disney CEO leadership vision and why it could redefine how Disney shows up as one company, everywhere we experience it.📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com📬 Stay Connected:- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube 🎧 Explore More:WDWRadio.com - Blog, archives, podcasts, and moreWDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewardsWDWRadioLIVE.com - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nightsEvents & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!LouMongello.com - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.🙏 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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Jan 26, 2026 • 51min

855 · My Interview with Tony Baxter on Figment and the Art of Imagination at Disney

855 · My Interview with Tony Baxter on Figment,and the Art of Imagination at DisneyHow did Figment become one of the most beloved and enduring symbols in Disney Parks history?Disney Legend Tony Baxter reflects on Figment, imagination, and creative legacy in a rare conversation recorded at EPCOT’s International Festival of the Arts. Joined by Michael Young, CEO of Disney Fine Art, this episode explores how Disney art and storytelling connect generations of fans.Tony Baxter is one of the most influential creative leaders in Disney theme park history. Over his decades at Walt Disney Imagineering, he helped shape iconic experiences including Journey Into Imagination, Figment, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, and the creative vision behind Disneyland Paris.In this episode, Tony looks back on imagination as the emotional heart of EPCOT, the mentors who shaped his creative philosophy, and the personal artwork he created years before many of his most famous Disney projects ever existed. He also shares what he hopes fans feel when they live with a piece of Disney art in their home.Lou is also joined by Michael Young, who offers insight into Disney Fine Art’s role in preserving artistic legacy, curating storytellers across generations, and why Disney art is about far more than what hangs on a wall.This is a conversation about imagination, mentorship, legacy, and the enduring emotional connection Disney fans have with art and storytelling.📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com📬 Stay Connected:- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube 🎧 Explore More:WDWRadio.com - Blog, archives, podcasts, and moreWDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewardsWDWRadioLIVE.com - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nightsEvents & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!LouMongello.com - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.🙏 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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Jan 21, 2026 • 1h 17min

854 · Disney In or Out - Pick a Side on These Disney Debates

What if there was no right or wrong answer…only where you stand?854 · Disney In or Out - Pick a Side on These Disney DebatesIn this episode of Disney In or Out, we have a fast-paced, passionate conversation about the Disney topics fans love to debate.From Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge and Magic Kingdom attractions to Marvel after Avengers Endgame, we explore the Disney debates fans care about most and why they strike such an emotional chord.This is Disney In or Out at its best - thoughtful, fun, nostalgic, and unapologetically opinionated.I'm joined by Lisa Dinoto Glassner and Matthew Woolley, and our conversation also takes a thoughtful turn into Disney leadership, as we explore what comes after Bob Iger and whether Disney’s future might depend on rethinking how the CEO role itself is structured.It's not about being right… it’s about why we as Disney fans care so deeply, and what our opinions reveal about nostalgia, storytelling, and the future of Disney.And the best part is that you can play along, pick your side, and share your take in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or on the voicemail.📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com📬 Stay Connected:- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube 🎧 Explore More:WDWRadio.com - Blog, archives, podcasts, and moreWDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewardsWDWRadioLIVE.com - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nightsEvents & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!LouMongello.com - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.🙏 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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Jan 13, 2026 • 1h 15min

853 · Disneyland Handcrafted Review and Interview with Leslie Iwerks

853 · Disneyland Handcrafted Review and Interview with Leslie IwerksDisneyland has been analyzed and celebrated for decades. But Disneyland Handcrafted shows us something far more rare. How the park was actually built.This week, I sit down with Academy Award nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks for a deep conversation about her new documentary, Disneyland Handcrafted, followed by my review and thoughtful discussion with Adam Bankhurst from IGN after attending the world premiere on the Walt Disney Studios lot.We talk about unseen archival footage, Walt, the pressure of building Disneyland in less than a year, and the craftsmen and builders whose hands shaped the park we know today. This is not nostalgia. It’s history, risk, and belief in motion.🎧 What you’ll hear:How Disneyland was literally built by handWhy this story changes how you experience the park todayThe human side of Walt Disney’s greatest riskLessons in leadership, creativity, and perseverance📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com📬 Stay Connected:- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube 🎧 Explore More:WDWRadio.com - Blog, archives, podcasts, and moreWDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewardsWDWRadioLIVE.com - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nightsEvents & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!LouMongello.com - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.🙏 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!
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Jan 5, 2026 • 1h 52min

852 · The State of the Disney Parks: What 2025 Changed and Why 2026 Matters

852 · The State of the Disney Parks: What 2025 Changed and Why 2026 MattersIf you had to describe Disney in 2025 and what it means for 2026, what word would you choose?2025 wasn’t a year defined by massive new attractions. Instead, it was a year of movement, transition, and emotional goodbyes. Lands closed. Atmospheres shifted. Comfort gave way to construction. And for many fans, it felt like Disney was asking us to trust what comes next.This is not simply another 2025 Disney year in revue and look ahead to or predictions for 2026. This week, we have a very honest, thoughtful conversation about Disney in 2025 and what it means for 2026. We look at what closed, what opened, what surprised us emotionally, and why this year may end up being one of the most important setup years in Disney history. We also explore what Disney needs to deliver in 2026 to make all of this feel worth it.Join the conversation, share your memories, and be part of the WDW Radio community.📣 Comment in the WDW Radio Clubhouse or 📞 Call the Voicemail: 407-900-9391✈️ Looking to visit a Disney Park, Disney Cruise Line, or any vacation destination around the world? Let our friends at Mouse Fan Travel help you with expert planning at no cost to you! - visit MouseFanTravel.com📬 Stay Connected:- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!- Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube 🎧 Explore More:WDWRadio.com - Blog, archives, podcasts, and moreWDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewardsWDWRadioLIVE.com - Watch and chat LIVE Wednesday nightsEvents & Cruises - Join us for group trips and in-person meetups!LouMongello.com - Creator or solopreneur? Turn your passion into your profession with coaching, courses, and events, including our Momentum events in Walt Disney World. I am also a keynote speaker who shares how to leverage lessons from Disney on customer service, experience, and leadership.🙏 Thank you for listening, being part of the WDW Radio family, and helping the show be recognized as the Best Travel Podcast for nine consecutive years - and for the incredible honor of being inducted into the ⭐️ Podcast Hall of Fame.Please subscribe, tell a friend, and join me again next week... and as always, sit back, relax, and enjoy this week's episode of the WDW Radio Show!

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