Fastpass to the Past: The Theme Park History Podcast
Join Austin, a former Disneyland Cast Member, as she takes you through the outrageous and sometimes downright strange origin stories of your favorite theme parks, attractions, and shows. The outlandish history of Disneyland, Disney World, Universal Studios, Knott’s Berry Farms, and much more will be explored along with some outrageous stories from former Employees & Cast Members. What are you waiting for? For your safety, remain seated with your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the podcast at all times.
Episodes
April 18, 2020 • 30 mins
Since Disneyland's opening in 1955, every designer who has been tasked with creating a new Main Street for a new Disney park has had to live up to that first nostalgic thoroughfare, the only one Walt actually had a hand in designing, while also setting the scene for the rest of the park. For Disneyland Paris, this task fell to a young brand-new Imagineer and self-proclaimed Disneytologist, Eddie Sotto, who envisioned a very dif...
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March 25, 2020 • 39 mins
Learn about how "Laemmle's Folly," a dream of an immigrant and rebel movie mogul named Carl Laemmle for a city dedicated to the movies, became a reality with Universal Studios Hollywood. The studio tour of his creation, once merely a method of attracting audiences and publicity to Universal Films, transformed over time into a worldwide theme park empire with revenues in the billions. While most early film studios are no...
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February 26, 2019 • 48 mins
Unlike the ill-fairing Hong Kong Disneyland transplant, Shanghai Disneyland is perhaps Disney’s most original theme park, leaning very little on real world locations and history, or even meticulously recreated towns or alleys we’ve seen in films: Shanghai Disneyland is full of almost completely original and fictional worlds. In this episode, Austin and a special guest discuss their tips and tricks for planning your next vacation to...
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February 26, 2019 • 43 mins
Learn about the first ever discussions for a Disneyland in China, which took place 17 years before the opening of Shanghai Disneyland back in 1998 in a political move linked forever with Disney titans, Michael Eisner and Bob Iger. In this episode, we'll also talk about why Disney choose to construct a massive theme park on the outskirts of Shanghai and what went into developing a Disney theme park that was 'distinctly chine...
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December 30, 2018 • 24 mins
The history of the Walt Disney World Resort is littered with great what-might-have-beens stories. These 5 resorts were all planned & ready to go, only to suddenly fall out of favor & never be constructed. Today, we'll be talking about the 5 'lost resorts' of Walt Disney World's Seven Seas Lagoon inspired by the canals of Venice, the mosques of Iran, and the beauty of the national parks.
Shownotes (www.th...
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December 16, 2018 • 26 mins
Now that it is December, it is officially skiing season! So today, Austin will be describing the disastrous 1960s 'lost resort' called Disney’s Mineral King Ski Village. Disney’s rarely-remembered and disatorious foray into creating a skiing destination within California's Sequoia National Park. Originally envisioned as a five-story resort with over a thousand rooms, surrounded by a movie theater, general store, pools, ...
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December 2, 2018 • 29 mins
Welcome to The Jungle! In this first episode of Season 2, join Austin for five exciting days and six romantic nights in the heart of the original Disneyland Adventureland. Often regarded as the first theme park safari, we'll discuss the origins of the beloved Jungle Cruise and the 8th Wonder of the World - the backside of water. In the 60 years since its inception, the jokes and to an extent the animatronics haven’t gotten any ...
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May 7, 2018 • 23 mins
Welcome to the third part of the 'Lost Lands' - a series of closed attractions, forgotten announcements, and especially those plans that never made it off the drawing board. Today, Austin will discuss the never-realized fantastical Beastly Kingdom - an intended part of Disney's Animal Kingdom's Part II Expansion at it's opening. The dragon from this land is even in Animal Kingdom's logo some 20 years later!...
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January 25, 2018 • 20 mins
Welcome to the second part of the 'Lost Lands of Disneyland' - a series of closed attractions, forgotten announcements, and especially those plans that never made it off the drawing board. Today, Austin will discuss the event space of Disney's bygone years, Holidayland - 9 acres of baseball diamonds, a circus, and bottomless mugs of beer perfectly suited for corporate events in the 1950's. Austin will also explore t...
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December 18, 2017 • 34 mins
The first part of the 'Lost Lands of Disneyland' - a series of closed attractions, forgotten announcements, and especially those plans that never made it off the drawing board. Discovery Bay is one of those ill-fated plans. Not unlike the Villain theme park and such that has been making the rounds on the internet lately. However, unlike that concept fraught with uncertainties and speculation, Disneyland’s Discovery Bay was ...
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Episode 7: The Most Hated WDW Attraction of All Time (The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management)
November 7, 2017 • 25 mins
Widely regarded as Walt Disney World's worst attraction of all time, The Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management is the catastrophic 90’s overlay of Walt Disney’s beloved Tiki Room attraction in Florida that included crude humor, Iago from Aladdin, Zazu from The Lion King, and that actually ended its run-in immersed in flames. Even if you never had the misfortune to experience Under New Management, today Austin is going to di...
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October 29, 2017 • 27 mins
In this two-part episode, Austin will discuss one of most innovative and expensive opening day attractions ever to grace a theme park map, Universal Orlando’s Jaws, and how it was the result of the one of theme park history’s darkest and yet most inspiring period – the “arms race for Orlando” between The Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios Hollywood in the 1970’s.
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October 19, 2017 • 21 mins
In this two-part episode, Austin will discuss one of most innovative and expensive opening day attractions ever to grace a theme park map, Universal Orlando’s Jaws, and how it was the result of the one of theme park history’s darkest and yet most inspiring period – the “arms race for Orlando” between The Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios Hollywood in the 1970’s.
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October 8, 2017 • 24 mins
In this episode, Austin will be taking a deep dive into the history behind a relatively recent addition to the Disneyland and Disney World Resorts - Trader Sam's. Tune in to learn about the origin, design, and tiki inspiration behind one of Disney's most elaborate attractions - and it isn't even technically in a theme park!
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October 1, 2017 • 25 mins
In this episode, Austin and special guest, Carolyn, discuss (and debate) 3 of the most dangerous rides The Walt Disney Company has ever seen and, yes, one is actually still in operation. Tune in to learn about attractions and incidents that inspired modern-day theme park safety mechanisms and that may or may not be responsible for shuttering the queues of some of Disneyland's most beloved and deadly attractions.
Special Guest...
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September 24, 2017 • 23 mins
In this episode, Austin will be talking about the origin and eventual demise of all four(!) defunct boat rides of Disneyland. Tune in to learn about The Phantom Boats, the Mike Fink Knell Boats, The Canal Boats Around the World, and the Motor Boat Cruise. All attractions that have been lost to the past (and one that sunk to the bottom of the river).
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September 24, 2017 • 18 mins
In this episode, Austin will tell the origin story and explain the legacy of America's First Theme Park - Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA. The tale of Walter Knott, a poor berry farmer, who lifted his family out of poverty and the Great Depression through ingenuity and an unbelievable work ethic is a great one. Their roadside berry stands quickly evolved to a full-scale chicken restaurant and later into a theme park in...
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