The Who Knew? Podcast Review – The Original D Podcast

Ed: A big thanks to Daniel Ross for coming back with another podcast review in what I hope will be an ongoing feature.

Welcome to the 2nd week of The Who Knew? Podcast Review. This week, we’ll take a look at Episode #4 of The Original D Podcast.

This podcast is run by Ryan (who also runs www.originald.com). He starts off with a look at the news. This week, notable topics: Toy Story Midway Mania is coming to the Nintendo Wii (Ryan questions Disney’s thinking behind this as most people won’t want to wait 60+ minutes for a ride when you can play it in the comfort of your own home) and the refurbishments that are currently taking place in Tomorrowland and Disney’s California Adventure [DCA] (my favorite subtopic in this discussion is his tangent onto hand-dryers in the new bathrooms in DCA near where The Little Mermaid ride is to be placed).

The feature this week is the Disney FASTPASS system. Ryan goes over the details of the system (such as what it is and how to use it) and reminds the listeners that you can get one FASTPASS per zone in the Disneyland Resort (the zones being Toontown, Disneyland, and DCA). He advises the listeners to know the time they will be able to get another FASTPASS (typically 2 hours after the first one or at the beginning of your loading window) and he says to not worry about being late for your window. All FASTPASSes will be honored no matter how late you are (unless you wait until near the park’s closing).

And in a twist, Ryan introduces a new segment to Original D: a Top 5 list. Sure, other podcasts do Top ___ lists, but his is different. He lets users on his website vote on the top 5 in a certain subject. This week it was the top 5 snacks in the Disneyland Resort. At number 5 was the Corn Dog (the best can be obtained from the corn dog cart at end of Main Street USA) which carried 8.4% of the vote; number 4 was the Frozen Lemonade (available from most outdoor vending carts) with 10.1%; Popcorn and Turkey Legs (available from outdoor vending carts) tied with 16% of the vote; and at the top of the list was Dole Whip (from the Tiki Juice Bar) with 42.9% of the vote.

After the Top 5, Ryan addresses part one of a listener’s question:

Q: What attractions are in DL that are different/better than those in WDW?

A: Everything’s smaller. Disneyland has several original attractions: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Indiana Jones, Mr. Toad, Roger Rabbit, the Matterhorn, Pirate’s Lair, the Aladdin Musical, among others, that are not replicated in Walt Disney World. Some differences in replicated rides: Pirate’s of the Caribbean is longer (but the queue’s not as good), it’s a small world’s queue’s better, Tarzan’s Treehouse is Disneyland’s version of WDW’s Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, the ToonTowns are completely different, and more.

My problems with this podcast are few, but kept taking away from the listening experience for me:

Ryan plugs his website incessantly (maybe it’s just because the length is shorter than most that I notice the plugs more often). I totally understand trying to drive your listeners to your site, but don’t bang us over the head with it.

This show sounds a lot like Netcot (featured last week) in format. I think it’s because Ryan is a member on the Netcot message boards and maybe Van (the host) inspired him to start a podcast and that’s just the format he’s used to. However, I think with a few more episodes under his belt, Ryan will develop a style all his own.

In the end, this is an excellent podcast for those who may not know much about Disneyland (and it’s a decent length to boot)

Download The Original D Podcast in iTunes!