877 · Disney Worldbuilders Interview with Leslie Iwerks

Disney Worldbuilders asks a question most of us have never thought to ask... where does a Disney world actually begin?

Not the land. Not the ride. The moment before any of it existed, when it was still just a feeling inside one person's head.

This week I sit down with Leslie Iwerks, director of The Imagineering Story and Disneyland Handcrafted, to talk about her ambitious new documentary. Disney Worldbuilders brings together Bob Iger, Josh D'Amaro, James Cameron, Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Pete Docter, Jennifer Lee, and Jared Bush for a series of remarkably candid conversations about how deeply personal ideas become stories, characters, and physical worlds that millions of people can walk into.

I had the privilege of screening the film before its release, and it is even better than I hoped.

In our conversation, Leslie shares:

• Why so many of today's most influential creators were Disney fans first, and what that says about the parks
• How personal struggles and childhood memories shaped stories like Frozen, Inside Out, and Zootopia
• The brutal note Jared Bush received on an early version of Zootopia, and what pulled it back from the edge
• Why Kevin Feige's favorite detail in any Disney land is a construction wall
• Why story and technology have always worked together at Disney, going back to Walt and Ub
• What creative failure, uncertainty, and rejection can teach the rest of us
• How great leadership protects storytellers and creative risk
• Why honoring Disney's history cannot mean being afraid to evolve it
• The moment Leslie filmed that became the emotional heart of the film

Leslie also reflects on her grandfather, Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, and her father, Disney Legend Don Iwerks, and how their legacy of combining storytelling and technology continues through Disney's worldbuilders today. She does not just study world builders. She comes from them.

Disney Worldbuilders premieres at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on August 16 and begins streaming on Disney+ on August 20.

Subscribe to WDW Radio so you never miss an episode. Then tell me this: What Disney story, character, attraction, or world first made you believe that something impossible could become real? Share your answer in the WDW Radio Clubhouse at WDWRadio.com/Clubhouse, or leave me a voicemail at 407-900-9391.

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Two years ago, Disney made us nearly 50 promises at D23 Expo 2024. This year, they have to keep them.

So what will Disney actually reveal at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event?

I'm going park by park, resort by resort, and all the way around the world with my predictions for the Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase. Villains Land. Piston Peak. Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. Space Mountain and Tomorrowland. Journey Into Imagination. Spaceship Earth. Monstropolis. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Tropical Americas. Expedition Everest. Avengers Campus. Pandora at Disney California Adventure. Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Disneyland Abu Dhabi and more.

I don't think this is another year of dozens of brand new promises. I think this is the year Disney has to show us what is real, what has changed, when we might actually experience it, and what may be quietly slipping away while nobody was looking.

Do we finally find out what Villains Land is really going to be called? I have a theory, and it starts with a mountain. Could Figment and Dreamfinder finally return to EPCOT, and what if the answer isn't the one we've all been asking for? Is Tomorrowland quietly undergoing a complete transformation? Does Disney's Animal Kingdom finally get a nighttime spectacular? And what is the one surprise that nobody sees coming?

Some of these are possible. Some are wild cards. And some are simply fun to dream about. That is part of what makes D23 so special.

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🙏🏼 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!

875 · The runDisney Companion: Your Race Day Guide from Fantasy to Finish Line

Before sunrise at Walt Disney World, thousands of people round the bend toward Cinderella Castle and fall in love with running in a way most guests never will. That is runDisney - and whether you are eyeing your very first 5K or chasing your next Dopey, there has never been one book to take you from registration to the finish line. Until now.

In WDW Radio #875, Lou Mongello sits down with Lisa DiNoto Glassner, founder of The Castle Run, to talk about her brand new book, The runDisney Companion: Your Race Day Guide from Fantasy to Finish Line and Beyond. It is the guide so many runners wished they had - part race day handbook, part love letter to the runDisney community, and part a collection of hard-won lessons that reach far beyond the finish line.

Lou and Lisa get into everything that makes a runDisney race work, from the 5K and 10K to the Princess Half Marathon and the full Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. They cover how to survive registration morning, why entering through a charity can be the smartest move, how to start training from scratch, how doable a 5K really is, the one mistake nearly every new runner makes, and why getting to the start line is harder than getting to the finish line. Plus the dozen life lessons at the heart of the book, why the community cheers louder for the last finisher than the first, and Lisa's simple challenge to anyone still on the fence - if you love Disney, you owe it to yourself to do a 5K.

There is a powerful personal story behind the book too, one of grief, running as healing, and the courage to walk away from one life to begin another. But at its core, as Lisa says, it is not about running at all. It is about the courage to step up to the starting line, before you know how the story ends.

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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!

874 · The Walt Disney World Time Capsule - What Would You Put in the Box?

It is 2076. Someone digs up a sealed time capsule in Walt Disney World. What did we choose to leave them?

This week on WDW Radio, we build a Walt Disney World time capsule - a snapshot of the parks exactly as they exist in 2026. And there is one rule attached to it that changes every single answer.

One attraction. One resort. One song. One snack. One smell. One sound. One price. More than a dozen categories in all, spanning Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom, and the Walt Disney World resorts - and none of them are as easy as they sound.

Along the way: the real time capsules Disney has already buried at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and the wonderfully surprising things they chose to seal inside them. The pick that broke the rule in the very first category. And the one thing we each wanted to make sure went in that box, no matter what.

Plus a final item that is not an object at all.

So what would you put in the box? Call the voicemail and tell me, and I will play your answers on a future show.

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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!

873 · Your Disney Questions + Our Disneyland Halloween Special Events

What would you bring back if you could restore any extinct Disney attraction exactly as it was? What is the weirdest piece of Disney merchandise you own? What's really next for Tomorrowland? Where should you go if want to visit the Disney Park in Asia? What is the TRUTH behind the Tomorrowland film's famous 1952 mystery blueprint? And what is happening this October at Disneyland that you don't want to miss?

This week, I opened up the inbox and share details about our WDW Radio Haunts and Heroes Week at Disneyland happening October 27-29, 2026. We're talking Oogie Boogie Bash VIP access, a private Marvel-themed breakfast inside Disney California Adventure before it opens to the public, and a remarkable experience. Tickets are limited. Spots are already moving. You need to know about this now.

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✈️ 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

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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!

872 · Why Disney Changed the Rules… and a D23 Tease

This week I am doing something I almost never do.

I am taking a piece of my Wednesday night live show and turning it into an episode, because you have been asking me about it... a lot.

There is a new Disney Springs transportation rule, and online, people are melting down. So let me pull up a chair and really talk with you about what changed, why I think it happened, and why so much of it comes back to the guest experience.

And here is why I wanted to bring this to the podcast. What I share today is not just about this one rule. I think it applies to so many decisions Disney has made, and will make, and once you see it through that lens, a lot of things start to make more sense.

Along the way I will also take us back to a place a lot of us still miss, the Adventurers Club, and why it really closed. I will share my thoughts on the new Pirates of the Caribbean animatronic, why a place like Level 99 made me so happy, a little bit on choosing the good... and yes, a tease about what is coming from WDW Radio at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event.

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✈️ 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

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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!

871 · The Most Surprising Hotel Near Walt Disney World: My ette Hotel Review

One of the most exclusive hotel awards on the planet - harder to earn than a Michelin star, given to less than 1% of hotels worldwide - belongs to a boutique property sitting just one mile from Disney's Animal Kingdom. Yet most Disney fans have never heard of it.

Lou Mongello has stayed at virtually every Disney resort and countless hotels around the world, always believing that where you stay shapes the entire tone of a vacation. So when he was invited to experience ette Hotel, he wasn't quite sure what to expect.

What he discovered surprised him.

In WDW Radio #871, Lou shares his complete, honest review of ette Hotel - from the beautifully designed rooms and Michelin Key recognition to hospitality that echoes the Disney philosophy of "everything speaks." He also dives into one of the best meals he's had in a very long time at Salt & The Cellar, and why the restaurant alone may be worth the trip. Plus, what makes this property different, who it's perfect for, and why it may be one of Central Florida's most overlooked luxury experiences.

If you've ever wondered whether stepping outside the Disney bubble could actually enhance your Walt Disney World vacation, this episode might surprise you as much as the hotel surprised Lou.

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✈️ 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

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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!

870 · 10 Reasons to Visit Shanghai Disneyland... and Why This Trip Changed Me

China is a long way to go for a theme park... but Shanghai Disneyland is not a theme park. It is a destination that happens to have a Disney castle at its center.

Lou Mongello had the privilege of being invited by Disney for Shanghai Disneyland's 10th anniversary celebration, with time alongside the Imagineering team who built it. In this episode, he gives you 10 reasons to visit Shanghai Disneyland, and why right now, during its 10th anniversary, is the perfect time to go.

Here is what you will hear:

• The one design decision that makes Shanghai unlike any Disney park you have ever set foot in, and why it disorients you in the best possible way
• The only place on Earth you can walk through Zootopia, a land so detailed that guests line up just to photograph the lampposts
• Why the tallest Disney castle in the world is something you go inside, not just photograph, plus the anniversary-only shows playing on it right now
• The trackless boat ride that fans who have been to every Disney park call their single favorite attraction, period
• The one land where Disney hands you the controls, and the climb that Lou says sends you back down a different person
• The stunt show with a real, raging tornado on stage, performed more than 10,000 times with live performers inside it
• The snacks worth flying for, the Cast culture built from scratch, and the brand-new Spider-Man land rising right now with its coaster track already complete!
• and much more!

And stay with me to the end, because this is the part I did not see coming. This trip did not just give me new things to talk about. It genuinely, fundamentally changed the way I think about Disney parks, not just what I think about them, but how. I am going to explain exactly how, and why, and why it might just change the way you see them too.

Whether Shanghai is already on your bucket list or you have never once considered it, this one might change your mind.

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✈️ 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

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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!

869 · How Disney Magic Changed Baseball - Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas

What happens when someone takes Walt Disney's philosophy and applies it far beyond Disney?

In this episode, I sit down with Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas and creator of Banana Ball, during their sold-out appearance at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports. What began as a conversation about baseball quickly became something much deeper.

Jesse shares how Disney shaped him as a child, the unforgettable Typhoon Lagoon experience that still influences his leadership today, and why Walt Disney's principles of innovation, storytelling, attention to detail, and relentless "plussing" have become foundational to Banana Ball's explosive success. We also hear from Disney Sports Vice President Adam Ball about why Banana Ball and Disney make such a natural fit.

This conversation isn't about baseball.

It's about creating unforgettable experiences, embracing criticism, taking bold risks, building culture, and putting people first.

Whether you're a Disney fan, entrepreneur, creator, leader, or someone pursuing a dream, the lessons in this episode are powerful, practical, and deeply inspiring.

In this episode you'll discover:

• How Disney influenced Jesse Cole's vision
• The surprising connection between Walt Disney and Banana Ball
• Why fan-first thinking changes everything
• The importance of "plussing" every experience
• Lessons in leadership, innovation, and resilience
• Why criticism may be a sign you're doing something meaningful

Jesse Cole - Instagram

The Savannah Bananas - Instagram - YouTube

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✈️ 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

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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!

868 · Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress: History, Debate & What's Next

The Carousel of Progress reimagining announcement sparked one of the most passionate Disney fan conversations in recent memory.

Some fans are excited. Others are heartbroken. Many are somewhere in between.

And all of it makes complete sense - because this attraction isn't just a show. For a lot of us, it's a memory. A person. A moment that lives somewhere deep.

But before you land on how you feel, there's a story you need to hear. One that starts not with the announcement - but in the 1950s, with Walt Disney himself, and an idea that never made it off the drawing board. Because when you understand where Carousel of Progress actually came from, and how many times it has already changed, what Disney just announced looks like something very different.

In Episode 868, we trace the complete history - from Edison Square to the 1964 World's Fair to every revision across six decades - and into every detail of what is coming in 2027. The new scenes. The Walt Disney animatronic. The off-planet finale drawn from John Hench's original concept art. The fan reaction breakdown. And the case, built on Walt's own words, for why the carousel moving again after 30 years might be exactly what he always intended.

📣 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

- Subscribe for email updates + get my FREE Disney book!

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• WDWRadio.com - Blog, archives, podcasts, and more
• WDW Radio Nation - Support the show and unlock rewards
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• Events & 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!