This month marks three years since I formed Imagineer Podcast, which has been entertaining and informing thousands of listeners about all things Disney. For as long as I can remember, ever since I was a very young kid, I always had a love for Disney that focused not just on the park experiences themselves but also who created them and how their ideas came to life. From a young age, I purchased books on Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney history, asked Cast Members questions about the parks, and soaked in as much knowledge as I could while working at Walt Disney World as a Cast Member. Forming Imagineer Podcast then afforded me the opportunity to share my knowledge and forge connections with a few famous Walt Disney Imagineers (C. McNair Wilson, Jim Sarno, Bob Gurr, and the family of Harriet Burns, just to name a few) who helped me expand that knowledge and appreciation even further.
After 30 months of recording podcast episodes and sharing my Disney knowledge, I decided it was time to create something extra special—a premium podcast series called Imagineer Tours that would not just inform and entertain but also guide listeners through the parks on demand, as if I were there with you in person to point out some of my favorite details and share the stories and the people that helped to bring the parks to life. I started writing my first Imagineer Tour, focused on Main Street USA at Walt Disney World, at the start of 2020 with an expected launch this summer. When Disney announced the temporary closure of the parks, I chose to work even faster to complete my first tour this spring, especially since I designed the tour to be enjoyed either at the park itself (when it reopens) or virtually from home.
While most podcast episodes take about 4-6 hours to plan, record and edit, this first Imagineer Tour took well over 100 hours to complete, resulting in a jam-packed 2-hour recording that feels like a mini audio book, or more accurately a premium podcast experience. Throughout those two hours, I share the story of Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom—the people who designed it, the stories that inspired it, its genius design, hidden details most guests miss, and some of the most famous windows and features you can find walking through the park. The tour is my love letter to Walt, Roy, and the countless Imagineers who helped plan and design the place that has always felt like home to millions of guests.
In case you’d like a sample, check out this 6-minute clip from the tour:
To access the full tour, there are two options currently available:
- Direct Download: Listeners can download the full tour from the Imagineer Podcast website. The tour is normally available for $23, but I’m providing a discount to all Kingdom Insider readers: 20% off through May 31, 2020 with code TKI520.
- Stream with Imagineer Society: Listeners who contribute $15/mo to Imagineer Podcast on Patreon (I call the group the “Imagineer Society”) get access to the full tour as part of their membership in addition to the other perks and benefits that come with their subscription.
On July 1, I will also be releasing an ad-supported version of the full tour, which will allow you to listen at no cost, just with ads throughout the experience.
Beyond Main Street, I plan to release more tours over time, likely only two or three every year since they take an enormous amount of time to research, outline, write, record, and edit (and I still have Imagineer Podcast episodes to release every two weeks). Which guided audio tours would you like to hear after Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom? Let me know in the comments or message me @ImagineerPodcast on Facebook or Instagram or @ImagineerNews on Twitter.
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