Welcome Aboard Thrill Seekers and Adventure Lovers

S3-E6: The King Wanted a Disney Bride Whatdo a Disney Ambassador, a reigning king, a hurricane-threatened yacht basin,and Walt Disney World's 55th Anniversary have in common? Quitea lot, actually. JoinMike as he reunites with fellow Opening Day cast members during Walt DisneyWorld's 55th Anniversary celebration and shares unforgettable stories from theresort's earliest days. Hear first...

Season 3, Episode 5:Should've Been a Commercial Beforethe Summit Bechtel Reserve became a world-class high adventure destination, itwas 10,600 acres of rugged West Virginia wilderness connected by little morethan logging roads and good intentions. Inthis episode, Mike takes you back to the winter of 2012 when he and Scoutvolunteer Russell Smart attempted something nobody had yet accomplished:d...

S3 – E4 The Forgotten Attraction. What if one of Walt Disney World'smost impressive opening-day attractions simply vanished... not because itfailed, but because another Disney park wanted it? In this episode, Mike Patrick takesa nostalgic trip back to the early days of Walt Disney World and shares thestory of his favorite forgotten attraction: The Mickey Mouse Revue .Opening with the Magic Kin...

S3 – E3 Disney's Wipeout: The Surf MachineThat Worked Too Well BeforeSpace Mountain, before EPCOT, and before Walt Disney World became the vacationgiant we know today, Disney was experimenting with some truly wild ideas. Inthis episode, Mike takes you back to 1971 and explores one of the company'smost fascinating forgotten projects: a massive surfing attraction built rightin the middle of...

🌊 Before there wasTyphoon Lagoon... before there was Blizzard Beach... there was River Country. Inthis episode, we journey back to Walt Disney World's very first water park, arustic swimmin' hole on the shores of Bay Lake that helped pioneer the modernthemed water park experience. From rope swings and sandy beaches to itsinnovative design and lasting influence on Disney history, River Cou...

All aboard for a forgotten chapterof Walt Disney World history. In this episode, Mike travels backto 1973, when Fort Wilderness was rapidly expanding and Disney was building anambitious steam railroad through the campground. What began as an exciting newtransportation system quickly became an unexpected adventure for a 20-year-oldlifeguard who was "voluntold" to oversee the operation. Fr...

Episode Description: In this episode, we close the incredible story of MyGal Sal , the B‑17 bomber that spent decades buried in Greenland’s ice. You’ll hear how she was found, studied, rescued, restored, and ultimatelyhonored in a way no one could have imagined. This chapter also brings together thedescendants of the crew—nearly 100 people connected by one moment ofsurvival—and I share my own expe...

Episode Description — My Gal Sal, Part 1 An American B‑17 that never fired a shot becomes one of WWII’s most unlikely legends. In this episode, skipper and storyteller Mike Patrick takes you deep into the astonishing real‑life saga of My Gal Sal, B‑17E serial number 41‑9032 — a bomber whose forced landing on the Greenland icecap sparked one of the most daring Arctic rescues of the war. Based on th...

S2 - E10🎙️ Episode Description Two rivers of adventure converge in this episode of The Prospectors Podcast . Host Mike Patrick shares the story of how a classic Hudson & Landry sketch — “The Prospectors” — shaped his first day at Busch Gardens Tampa in 1976. Then, listener Harriet recounts a hilarious family moment from 1984, when her toddler mistook the walking Shamu for a monster. From cold...

S2 – E9 " It was Just a Joke" A stowaway in the killer whale pool, a shock‑jockradio hoax, and a corporate showdown that nearly pulled millions in advertisingdollars—Season 2, Episode 9 dives into one of the wildest weeks in SeaWorldOrlando history. Host Mike Patrick recounts the aftermath of the Daniel Dukes incident andthe chaos that followed when a Tampa DJ claimed his producer was hi...

🎙️ S2 • E8 — Mission Creep! Fifty years. Five continents. Countless missions. Oneincredible journey. In this episode, Mike Patrick takes you around the worldthrough a lifetime of faith‑based service, disaster relief deployments, and theunforgettable moments that shaped his perspective on resilience, gratitude, andthe human spirit. From volcanic ash in Costa Rica, mountain villages inGuatemala, and...

 Short Description — S2 • E7 Mike Patrick returns with two wild Summit Stories — a downhill bike crash that leads to a helicopter ride, and a high‑speed sprint down the WV Turnpike to reunite an injured camper with his interpreter. Plus, a legendary poker game at Thurmond’s Dun Glen Hotel that supposedly ran far longer than anyone would believe. Think you know how long? Tune in for the reveal.

S2 - E6 1,000 Days till Jamboree A 3 a.m. call in Abu Dhabi. A $50 million gift. Ten thousandacres of raw wilderness. And a deadline: 1,000 days. In this episode, MikePatrick reveals the high‑stakes, high‑adventure story behind the creation ofthe Summit Bechtel Family Reserve — the permanent home of the National ScoutJamboree. Packed with behind‑the‑scenes details, massive engineering feats, andth...

The Pizza That Had to Be Perfect” In the fall of 2010, Mike Patrick arrived in Abu Dhabi tohelp open the world’s fastest roller coaster — but the story that stole theshow wasn’t about speed at all. It was about a pizza. This episode takes you behind the scenes of Ferrari World’sGrand Opening: the pressure, the precision, the legacy of Enzo Ferrari… and thehigh‑stakes quest for AVPN certification a...

For decades, one story has bounced around the attractions world like gospel:a mysterious man in a tiny booth outside Bristol Zoo quietly collecting parkingfees for twenty years… only for everyone to discover he didn’t work for anyone . A perfect scam. A perfect legend. Andcompletely untrue. In this episode, Mike Patrick dives intothe origins of the Bristol Zoo parking‑lot myth, why it spread acros...

S2 • E3 — The Suez Canal Caper What happens when a determined dad in Cairo decides he’sgoing to surprise his son aboard a 900‑foot U.S. container ship… in the middleof the night… in the Red Sea? In this episode, Mike pulls off one of hisboldest adventures yet: a clandestine 1:30 a.m. boarding of the M/V Cyprene , a full transit of the SuezCanal, and a daring mid‑voyage extraction before the ship r...

In this episode Mike Salutes Memorial Day and shares a harrowing story of Naval history and heroism that his family never knew before his Dad's passing in March. He also teases an upcoming story about a crashed B-17 heading for England in 1942 and is now on display in the National WWII museum in New Orleans. His Uncle was on that plane.

S2 E1 30 feet, not 30 meters…… Description A simple measurement error turns a 30‑foot dive tower into a 90‑foot monster— and suddenly Mike is the only one crazy enough to climb it. In this season‑openingepisode, Mike takes you behind the scenes of Everland’s massive waterparkproject in South Korea, where lifeguard shortages, cultural curveballs, and astunt team in over their heads collide with one...

Podcast Description — Season 1, Episode 15: Don’t Swim Shamu A quiet July morning at SeaWorld Orlando turns into one ofthe most unforgettable moments of Mike Patrick’s career. In this grippingbackstage story, Mike—then Director of Operations—recounts the shockingdiscovery of a man who hid in the park overnight and attempted to swim withTilikum, SeaWorld’s largest and most unpredictable killer whal...

S1 E14 –Sorry Sir, Disney Doesn’t Take American Express (Podcast Description)   Afurious hotel guest. A rejected American Express card. A crowded dining room. And watching it all from the next table… Dick Nunis himself. In thisepisode, Mike takes listeners back to 1974 and his early days at theContemporary Resort, where a simple credit‑card policy turns into a full‑blownguest meltdown — right unde...

S1E#13  AdmiralOverboard (“sort of”)   A dawn rendezvous with a Navy destroyer, six‑footGulf waves, a furious Bos’n, and one very determined RearAdmiral—what could possibly go wrong? In thisepisode, Mike rides out with the Coast Guard to welcome USS Mitscher (DDG‑57)into Tampa Bay… only to witness a crushedlanding light, a mangled ladder, and an admiral dangling over open water like ascene from an...

S1‑E11 — “Faster Than a Saturn V, Baby” On Good Friday 2010, Ifinally strapped into the back seat of an F‑15 Eagle after four years of waiting, one groundedjet, and a detour living in Cairo. What followed was the wildest E‑Ticket ride of my life — avertical launch, nine G's, a supersonic run over the Atlantic, and a mock gunpass on a Navy P‑3. But before we get airborne,we honor a remarkable r...

Mike takes an emotional moment to pay tribute to his Dad's passing on 3/28/26, and manages to recover and share a couple of unscripted stories about Harleys and Shoplifters. He also tells how the Polynesian Hotel and the New River Gorge Bridge share several things in common. And how one element of that commonality created quite a problem for Disney guests. Tune in to hear the details.......

S1E9: Two Kinds of Motorcycle A childhood of banana‑seat bikes and SteveMcQueen reenactments leads Mike into a lifetime of two‑wheel adventures—froma sputtering 90cc Yamaha to a Harley Street Bob at age 60. Along the way comelove bugs, sand‑coveredS‑curves,West Virginia mountain rides, a storm that knocked out power for 11 days, andtwo hit‑and‑runs that changed theway he saw the road. It’s a fast,...

S1E8 Almost Died, But I Didn’t Get Hurt Description.  A simple trip to inspect a movie prop turns into a full‑blownaviation thriller when Mike’s Cessnalines up to land on a quiet grass runway…only to find a twin‑engine Beechcraft coming straight at him from theopposite direction with no radio, no lights, and no warning. What follows is asplit‑secondescape, a heart‑pounding near‑miss, and a Twiligh...