As we kick off the two year anniversary celebration of the WDWNT Network and WDW News Today (running now through August 8th), we are proud to announce a number of exciting new additions and enhancements throughout our family of websites and podcasts. On July 8, 2007, we pledged to find new ways to bring the latest news, information, magic, and fun from the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts directly to you. Over the past two years, we have kept to that promise, launching some of the most popular entities in the Disney online fan community such as the WDW News Today podcast, The Disney Pincast, and Disneyland News Today. We have also innovated with the only fully interactive Walt Disney World Resort focused podcast, the internet’s only podcasts covering current events at the Disneyland Resort and the huge hobby that is Disney pin trading, and most recently, the newest version of our WDWNTube, the premiere location for streaming and sharing your favorite Disney Park videos. Moving into our third year of operation, we plan on being more innovative, interactive, informative, and entertaining than ever before.
The Podcasts of the WDWNT Network
While we could have never imagined it two years ago, our podcasts have been the heart and soul of everything we do at the WDWNT Network. Making use of the utilities that the remainder of our online community provides, we have used things such as our WDWNT Network Community Forums to enhance our already popular weekly productions. Beginning in July 2008, we kicked off a program we call WDWNT Interactive, allowing WDW News Today Podcast listeners to vote for the topics discussed in their favorite segments on the show. The popularity of that program has been unparalleled and has made us sure that every segment we air is one that a majority of our audience will find useful or entertaining. Based on this success, we are proud to announce that the Disneyland News Today Podcast will launch a similar service called DLNT Interactive, where listeners will be able to head to the community forums and vote for the segments that would like to hear on that weekly program. DLNT Interactive will be officially launching on July 2, 2009. In addition to these interactive features, all three of the WDWNT Network produced podcasts offer multiple services on the WDWNT Network Community Forums. WDW News Today and Disneyland News Today Podcast listeners can already view show notes and discuss the shows with those who produce it weekly by posting and reading under corresponding sections. Listeners of the Disney Pincast can not only discuss the show, view show notes, and weekly pin releases while on the forums, but can also discuss Disney pin trading and other Disneyana collecting (such as Vinylmation) while visiting. All of these features make a visit to the WDWNT Network Community Forums a must and enhance the listeners experience each and every week.
Focusing only on the podcasts of the WDWNT Network, some popular segments of these shows are leaving and returning, and a number of new offerings are just on the horizon. The WDW News Today Podcast is proud to be introducing two exciting new segments, titled “The Golden Age” and “World’s Finest”. “The Golden Age” will be a quest to find out which point in Walt Disney World history could be considered the best overall period of the “Vacation Kingdom’s” existence. The “World’s Finest” segment will provide listeners with plenty of opinions and banter, as the WDWNT Podcast team tries to figure out what the very best of Walt Disney World truly is. Two classic segments that haven’t been heard in quite a while will also be returning, in “Back to the Future” and “Disney Don’t Forget the Lyrics”. Since it’s debut in January 2008, “Back to the Future” has allowed the WDWNT Podcast crew to educate listeners on the past, present, and future of Walt Disney World while honoring a favorite film series of the same name. “Disney Don’t Forget the Lyrics” was the first trademark game show on the WDW News Today Podcast and has set an example that many other Disney fan podcasts have tried to imitate, but have been unable to duplicate, a game where contestants must remember the lyrics to the classic songs of the Disney Parks. Over on the Disneyland News Today Podcast, the “What Were They Thinking” segment will find a new home. In this segment, the DLNT Staff will look at the various decisions made by Disneyland Management both past and present and try to figure out “What Were They Thinking?!?”. This segment will also be part of the all new DLNT Interactive program being introduced
At many times during our continuous evolution, we have brought you some new and experimental projects, one of the longer-lasting and well known was “Your Ear to the World”. On June 10th, 2009, the “Your Ear to the World” podcast had its final episode. This was a fun and innovative project for us over the last year, but we have decided to retire it to make room for a more unique method of bringing you audio experiences. The name of our latest and perhaps most exciting project to date is WDWNTunes.
Introducing WDWNTunes!!!
What is WDWNTunes? WDWNTunes is a streaming online radio station that will bring listeners audio from the Disney Parks, as well as exclusive content from the WDWNT Network. The main site for WDWNTunes will also provide listeners with a chat room, a full listing of our current audio library, a broadcasting schedule (coming soon!), and much more. In addition, WDWNTunes will be the new home of our WDWNT Live! shows, an opportunity to join us join us each month for a live interactive podcast. The first WDWNT Live! presented on WDWNTunes will be taking place on July 8, 2009, and will be a special show to commemorate our two year anniversary. Be sure to stay tuned for more details on this special show as we get closer to that date. In the mean time, you can find WDWNTunes online at www.wdwntunes.com and follow WDWNTunes on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wdwntunes and on Facebook at this link.
More To Come
If all of this news wasn’t enough from the WDWNT Network, we invite you to join us for the Town Square Talk segment during Episode 100 of the WDW News Today Podcast and Episode 70 of the Disneyland News Today Podcast for a few more pieces of news, as well as a blockbuster special announcement that will shake the very foundation of the WDWNT Network.
WDW News Today and the WDWNT Network is proud to present this full line-up of changes and additions to you, our audience, and hope you will continue to be a part of our still growing community. We are truly thankful for your devotion to our websites and podcasts and would like you to know that the last two years would have never been possible without your support. We hope you are as excited as we are about these new efforts in continuing to “Bridge the Gaps Between You and the World”.
Tom Corless
Owner of the WDWNT Network
