February, 2015

In early 1955, Walt was in a fight to find enough money to finish building Disneyland. He was so desperate that he was selling equity in the park, at firesale prices, to almost any company with money. But the surprising success of the Davy Crockett television show on ABC gave Walt the money he needed. It also led to more drama as Walt decided he wanted to buy back the parts of the park he'd sold. Click on the link below to listen now.

In the early 1990's, forces as diverse as the first Gulf War, Disney's undeveloped land in Osceola County, and competition from Universal Studios, led Disney to develop its first set of budget hotels. Hear the entire story from Jim. Click on the link below to listen now.

Start celebrating Disneyland's 60th birthday with the story of how Walt decided to build a theme park. From Universal Studios selling a dozen eggs on its studio tour, to how Disney learned to re-release movies every decade or so, to Coca-Cola produce placement on television, Jim has a bunch of never-before-heard stories about how Disneyland got built. Click on the link below to listen now.

Hear Jim tell the story of the first Walt Disney World Marathon, held back in January, 1994, including how Disney got about 8 times as many people to sign up as they expected, what happened when race day temperatures dropped to 30 degrees, and more.