Disney Podcasts 101 – All You Need to Know About Great Disney Podcasts!

Many of you found me on this site through twitter and shared in my journey to the Walt Disney World Moms Panel last year. During that process, I shared quite a bit about my Disney background and experiences. I am and always have been confident in my knowledge of Disney history and even a bit of trivia, and my desire to share that history is really what gave me the push to write about Disney here. That said – I am the FIRST to admit that I do not know it all. More than that, there are some areas of Disney fandom that I am just completely clueless about! Luckily, one of the side-effects of Disney obsession is an incessant desire to LEARN MORE about the parks, resorts, attractions, history, behind-the-scenes info – any and everything!

Being a Florida resident for the better part of the last 15 years and a cast member a few times, my knowledge was gained just by going to the parks and experiencing all the changes and history – as it happened. I realized during the Moms Panel application process that there is a whole other world of Disney fans out there who have completely different skill sets regarding our favorite place.

For the most part, when we weren’t living in Florida, we planned our trips on our own – sometimes through Disney directly, other times through a travel agency where we’d do a whole “Orlando vacation” package. So I never really sought out sites like MouseSavers or the forums that exist, because I wasn’t looking for tips or tricks. I learned very quickly that these other sites are full of very passionate people devoted to saving people money on their trips, getting the most out of their vacations to the world, and chatting with others about those vacations and the tips and tricks they’ve learned. It really was an eye-opening experience as to just how many people are out there sharing their love of one common place – Walt Disney World.

In addition to the sites and forums, there are countless podcasts out there, many of which keep those not in the parks going until they can return to the World. When I first started on twitter, I saw so much discussion of podcasts that I went to iTunes, typed in “Disney World” as my search word and just downloaded ALL the podcasts it returned. Then, I tried to listen to some. I discovered that some were really out of date and others were really not that interesting, and I became overwhelmed. I decided – ok, I’m not a podcast person and just tended to gloss over any mentions I saw of them on twitter. Embarrassing, I know!

Well, then I started connecting with more and more Disney fans on twitter, and actually getting to know some of these podcasters and online radio show hosts. Then I started listening to some. It was wonderful to have this other way to connect with people that were just as passionate as I was about Disney World and all it embodies. I heard some podcasts discussing the history I had experienced as a child – they were there too! They remembered the same things I did! While I am definitely a person that embraces the things that make us all unique, there is definitely something comforting in finding the common experiences that tie us together.

So, I thought I would gather together a list of all the active and interesting podcasts out there because I thought, “well, maybe if *I* was clueless/overwhelmed about podcasts, other people are too!”. So I asked for help on twitter. People are very passionate about their favorite podcasts! Then a friend pointed me in the direction of a blog that did exactly what I was hoping to do. Rather than re-word what’s already been done, I thought I’d just share the link here.

Without further ado, here is Mush’s Blog on Disney Podcasts 101. He lists descriptions of each, and even categorizes them by subject matter, since there are planning podcasts and music podcasts and trivia podcasts and more! {You can also follow @cemushr on twitter to see when the latest updates are made!} Another site to check out is the Disney Podcast Directory, which updates regularly and has a quick-subscribe section to get all your podcasts in one place. {Follow @DizPodDir on twitter for updates on his updates! ;)}

Now before you run off to read his blog, I’d love to hear from YOU here! If you have a favorite Disney podcast or you ARE a Disney podcaster that would like to see your show featured here on ZannaLand, let me know in the comments or email me ([email protected])  and let me know – I’d love to spotlight your show here.

Stay tuned for an upcoming spotlight on the Daddy of all podcasters (and trivia guru and interviewer and audio guide master and on and on!!) – Lou Mongello and his famous WDW Radio show. Lou has been generous enough to give us some great items for a GIVEAWAY too – so keep watching for that feature article!

Special thanks to Rikki Nibs of the Be Our Guest Podcast (one of my favorites and you should DEFINITELY check that one out!) and CrashRick for their great help with gathering info for this blog!