Make it Magical: A Disney-centric Podcast

It is finally here…Opening day for Disneyland, a day that will go down in history for so many reasons. It was here that Walt’s dream that he had been pursuing for so long would finally materialize and would prove to everyone that it was all he had ever promised it would be, but the opening day wouldn’t be without its struggles. Black Sunday as it is known, would see the park at nearly double the c...

We are getting all so close to the closure of our building Disneyland series and the opening of the park, but first we need to finish covering some last minute details around the park and construction! There have been so many different times when it looked bleak that the park would open on time, no more so than weeks before when construction was at a breakneck pace. However, once Walt showed the p...

Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy. The fabulous five, some of the most iconic characters to grace the silver screen! Today we go back in time to discuss each character’s humble beginnings before they launched into super stardom and the lovable characters we know today! Check out our official website: https://www.makeitmagicalpodcast.com Make it Magical merch is available now at https://www.b...

Welcome to Make it Magical Believe it or Not where today we take on Disney urban legends to find what is true and what is myth. From babies being born in the parks and lip licking Frito animatronics to actual skeletons being used in Disneyland Pirates and the origin of the words Imagineering. We have ten fun legends today that we see if Clayton can correctly guess whether or not they are true or l...

This was a fun one! We got to sit in a room and listen to the director of The Imagineering Story, Leslie Iwerks. This past weekend she gave a talk at the Walt Disney Family Museum going behind the scenes of what it took to make the magic that is this 6 part miniseries and the book that would follow. This was such an amazing experience and today we talk all about our experience and the highlights o...

Construction is swinging into full gear today as we talk about building the opening day lands, Main Street, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland and Frontierland. They got creative during construction trying to stretch every dollar as far as it could go, labeling weeds with latin names or reusing old walnut trees. But at the utmost importance to Walt was that it was done right! Listen in to le...

All the work of this series now kicks into overdrive. There is less than a year till opening day, and construction has started. We cover the foundational parts of construction today like sewage and water, trees and landscaping, and some unique approaches they had to some problems during construction. But most of all we talk about Walt’s attention to detail through all of it. There wasn’t a stone t...

You asked and we deliver. Here’s a BONUS episode talking or should we say ranting all about the recent Oogie Boogie Bash catastrophe. We recap how the events of the ticket drop day unfolded and why Emily now refuses to look Oogie Boogie in the eye. We make our feelings very clear on this one and don’t hold back. Listen in to hear all about it!  Check out our official website: https://www.makeitmag...

Colors of the Wind, Go the Distance, Beauty and the Beast, Friend Like Me…there's too many to possibly pick from during the glorious musical years of the Disney Renaissance, but that is what we are doing today! We undergo the challenging process of picking our top 10 Disney Renaissance songs. Out of such a jammed packed decade of excellent music, this is a tough, nail-biting experience so we...

Welcome to the Weenie Awards! This week we talk all things weenies, the visual magnets that draw us to the various parts of the Disney parks. What’s the worst weenie? What’s the most technical weenie? But most importantly, what are our top 5 favorite Disney weenies? We somehow manage to make it through this episode with minimal giggling. Hallelujah for that! Check out our official website: https:/...

This week, Clayton Watches returns where we try to see Brother Bear through another’s eye. Brother Bear was the 44th Disney Animation film and has a very interesting backstory all the way from inception through release and legacy. This movie also shares a few unique distinctions when it comes to not only Disney Animation, but animation as a whole. We guarantee that after you listen to this episode...

Today we finish the second segment of our Building Disneyland series. We’ve talked through how we got the funding to build the park and we are ready to start building with just months ahead of when the park would open. But before we go into the actual building, we wanted to tie up some loose ends and set the foundation for when we get into the actual construction. Today we finish off funding, with...

This week on our Building Disneyland series, we take a deep dive look at the first Disneyland drawing going over in detail the lands that were first imagined for the park. Then, we cover what we actually did with this Drawing and how it helped Roy secure the much needed construction funds to help build the park. A well known broadcasting company today would be the solution to finding the funding t...

Today we discuss a big big moment in the building Disneyland series. The land has been acquired in sleepy Anaheim, but how are we going to pay to build it? An idea that has proven difficult to sell, so Walt needed something to show others what Disneyland would become. Today we cover the first drawing of Disneyland that would go on to help be the basis for what the park would later look like! Spoil...

We’re back to our building Disneyland series this week. Today we continue the discussion on how Walt attempted to find and finance the park as well as a very exciting topic, finding the right place for where the park will be built! (Spoiler alert, it’s located in Anaheim) Check out our official website: https://www.makeitmagicalpodcast.com Make it Magical merch is available now at https://www.bonf...

We had the great pleasure of having our friends Caleb and Caitlyn from the Market House Podcast on this week to get to know them as well as discuss a very important parks topic, navigating Disney experiences when you have a food allergy. Caleb has Celiac Disease, meaning he is gluten intolerant, so we discuss what it is like to manage this within the parks and how Disney overall is so accommodatin...

Today we get a little feisty discussing some things that we are not the biggest fans of as it pertains to the current running on both the parks as well as the content sides of the Disney brand. This is just the way we feel about these things, and if you have a different opinion let us know. Let the hot takes fly! Head on over to the DMSW Podcast where we were recently featured as guests for the 50...

You have been warned! SPOILERS GALORE! The Disney 100 celebration shows, Wondrous Journeys and World of Color One, what can we say but wow! Even though we have a few minor criticisms, we both feel that Disney knocked it out of the park with both of these shows. We wanted to break them down for those looking to hear an in-depth review, so we decided a bonus episode made the most sense to keep spoil...

We just came back from Disneyland, which means we get to talk about all the new things that came to the parks and we got to experience. It was a big trip for us for a number of reasons, Punish the Podcaster for Magic, our podiversary, the Disney100 celebrations and the new shows!! Of course with this comes all the fun little stories and interactions which made our trip memorable. Don’t worry about...

It’s been 1 whole year since the podcast was launched and we are in Disneyland this week, so what better way to celebrate than getting to know your ghost hosts and reminiscing about the past year. It has been a fantastic year and we are so glad to have you as listeners of the podcast, so check this one out and get to know us a bit better. Spoiler: this one gets emotional! Be sure to check out the...

Previously on the Make it Magical Podcast…we talked all things trains, but today things are getting a little bit more serious for the idea of Disneyland. We cover the headwinds Walt experienced in simply getting the idea of the park going. This includes having to convince his own family this was a good idea to finding people that would believe in his dream enough to invest. Things are really start...

Previously on Make it Magical…Emily and Dole Whip Daddy (AKA Clayton) started to tell the Disneyland story starting with the inspiration of what would become the resort. This week we continue this story by covering in more detail how Walt’s love of trains would further inspire him to start the initial plannings of his theme park…Mickey Mouse Park, but we leave it there for a bit of a cliffhanger....

It’s Episode 50, a big big deal for us and we want to celebrate it by telling a story, a story very dear to us…the building of Disneyland. We want to go through all the inspiration, thoughts and struggles that it took to make the park a reality. Today we start with the inspiration and while most have heard a story of a park bench, that is only one piece of the puzzle. Follow along as we go through...

With our upcoming Disneyland trip, we thought it would be cool to go over the stuff that we have never done or been able to achieve in the parks. That’s right even after all these years of going to the parks, there is still stuff that we haven’t done and there's more being added all the time. The Disney Parks are always growing and changing and this was a core idea of Walt’s visions for them,...

A little less complaining today as we get to talk about the non-extinct version of the PeopleMover. Today we mainly focus on the history of Walt Disney World's PeopleMover and cover all the changes since its debut in the 70s. Paging Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow! Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Makeitmagicalpod Use our code MAGICAL15 for 15% off your next order at Magic Cand...