56 - Good Neighbors - Sea World

Welcome to Episode 56 of the RetroWDW Podcast: "Good Neighbors" - We appreciate your support and hope you have been enjoying each and every episode. Be sure to check out some of our previous shows!

Comments & Corrections

1. Jake Nelson wrote in about a possible hidden skeleton somewhere inside Catastrophe Canyon. We give our take on this one from the old days of MGM.
2. Reuben wrote us asking about the old shop to the left right inside the entrance to the Disney-MGM Studios. He is referring to Sid Cahuenga's of course! We discuss this store and the various items we have seen there over the years.
3. Joe Barlow wrote in about some backlot vehicles, mainly the Hardcastle and McCormick car. We misidentified it as a Lamborghini, but Joe tells us it really is a kit car from back then.

Listener Mail

The mailbag is full and we love that! Every month, you can possibly get on the show, so be sure to write to us at podcast@retrowdw.com.

1. Tom Potter is our first letter and it is all about time capsules. Tom brings up the opening of Coronado Springs and how they placed a capsule back in 1997.
2. Next up is Ron. He asks us about trucks being buried at the Magic Kingdom from way back during the late 60s construction. We hear about some trucks out in the lakes, but as far as the parks, we aren't really sure...
3. John wrote us and has been a binge listener since August. He is curious about the EPCOT Center pavilion logos and who designed them and why. This is right in How's wheel-well and is super fun to learn about.
4. Finally, we got a tweet from Michael, giving some major props on the upcoming Horizons release we have coming. Todd gives us the updates next...

Audio Rewind

Our audio rewind this month is El Rio del Tiempo - Thank you for all the guesses and emails!

We have a winner! Congratulations Jimmy Tucker!  - you won the book by Marty Sklar from Brian.

If you think you know the answer to this month's audio rewind, email us! contest@retrowdw.com - This month, the winner will be getting 3 books from author Christopher Smith - All entries due 4/15/2020 and a random winner will be selected.

Main Topic

This month, our main topic is Good Neighbors mostly focusing on Sea World. The early days of Lake Buena Vista had just one theme park so people needed more to do and more places to stay. A few years back, we discussed some of the good neighbor hotels and that program back on Episode 39. Brian leads us this month through some of the history and how Sea World got it's start. This includes California, Ohio and the other locations as this is all an important part of the story. 
We walk you through every attraction through the years with personal experiences and also lots of great memories. This includes things like the Dolphin Feeding Pool, original Whale and Dolphin Stadium, Fountain Fantasy, Water Skiing and so much more. The construction history is also discussed, which has changed quite a bit over the years. 

This wouldn't be an episode of the RetroWDW Podcast without some food discussions. We take a deep-dive into the Hawaiian Punch Village along with some very detailed discussion about 'Hula Pie'. If you have ever been to Sea World since it opened, this episode will for sure take you back and also give you a look at how it has changed over the years. We hope you enjoy this look at one of our favorite 'Good Neighbors'.

2020: The Year of Film

To make sure you are the first to know when items are released, subscribe to us on YouTube. Be sure to click the notification bell too, that way you are alerted when we post.  Finally, be sure to check out Vimeo if that is your thing, as we will post there as well. This past month we have posted a great resort tour from The Disney Channel, The original DVC Resort Tour, and a great Innoventions commercial from the mid-90s.

As a bonus, to accompany this episode we have released a great new video from 1980 Sea World. This was shot on Super8 with sound! You are going to love this vintage footage that looks amazing - especially the Whale & Dolphin show.

Next Month

• Join us next time for Episode 57, which we have not fully planned out, but you won't want to miss it  Thanks for joining us!