WDW News Today Hall of Fame

The WDW News Today Hall of Fame is the place where the WDWNT network forever enshrines the legendary few who have dedicated themselves to making our family of websites and podcasts great. When the WDW News Today website debuted on July 8, 2007, many moaned over the creation of yet another Walt Disney World related fan-site and claimed that we “would not last more than 3 months”. Here we are many years later, still bringing the many worlds of Disney to the people who seek it. WDW News Today and the members of the WDWNT Network are now some of the most popular Disney fan-sites and podcasts on the Internet; a testament to the devotion of its followers and its fantastic staff, but especially these select few:

Justin “The Mayor” Heyman (Inducted July 8, 2008)

He will forever be known as the first cast member of WDW News Today, and will always be remembered for his first piece of advice to WDWNT, “Get rid of the $%&*#@? Flash Introduction Page!!!”. While we didn’t know this at the time, Justin was a website wizard, with technical skills that would lead to the creation of our first short-lived discussion forum and an overall improvement to the original site during its first week of operation. After developing what was then known as the “Disney News Network” forums, Justin chose to leave WDWNT based on what we called “The WDWmagic Incident”, despite that many hidden factors lead to the conflict. For many months, Justin would remain in contact with WDWNT despite the problems of the past, and would eventually be coaxed back to a full-time position shortly after 2008 began. When Justin returned to WDWNT, he found a completely re-imagineered website and that the forums were a thing of the past (we had partnered with Micechat at the time). From the moment he returned, Justin had his heart set on creating a fantastic forum for WDW News Today to call its own. By teaming up with Technical Director Jose Castillo, the WDW News Today Community Forums were born; a place for WDWNT’s family of websites and its followers to come together and discuss what they are passionate and opinionated about. At the same time, Justin was finally starting to appear on the weekly WDW News Today Podcast. Justin has become a staple of the extremely popular “Back to the Future” segment, sharing his endless knowledge of past and present WDW attractions with the show’s many listeners. Justin gained his nickname “The Mayor” from hosting the bi-weekly “Town Square Talk” segment on the WDWNT podcast, and has jokingly been referred to by the name both on and off the air many times. Justin has dedicated an unbelievable amount of time to the WDW News Today family, all while handling a more than full-time REAL job, two children, and his hilarious wife. For all of this, Justin Heyman has earned his place in this hallowed hall. How fitting it is that the first cast member of WDW News Today is also the first inductee of the WDW News Today Hall of Fame.

Steve “The Muppet Guy” Swanson (Inducted July 8, 2008)

Since September 14, 2007, Steve Swanson has been providing a wealth of comedy to the WDW News Today Podcast. Steve contacted WDW News Today after claiming to be impressed by the first episode of the podcast, and was “roped” by Tom Corless into co-hosting episode 5. After being part of the insanity that was episode 5 (an episode in which Tom and Steve reenacted some of their favorite WDW attraction quotes in hilarious fashion), Steve offered to help out in setting up an RSS feed for the WDWNT podcast, enabling the WDW News Today podcast to finally be available on Itunes. Steve would appear on numerous episodes of the show as the months progressed, quickly becoming the most popular co-host of the program (He was actually voted most popular co-host in a January 2008 poll). However, he would slowly begin to appear less and less as time progressed. This wasn’t a result of any problems between Steve and WDW News Today, it was actually because Steve had a more demanding role hosting the extremely popular Muppetcast. Steve founded the Muppetcast in early 2007 as the first podcast dedicated to Jim Henson’s many creations, and since its inception, it has become one of the most popular podcasts on the Internet. Steve’s avid fan-hood of the many Muppet productions has earned him the nickname of “The Muppet Guy” within the WDWNT staff. While Steve has not appeared on as many shows as some members of the team, he has been an intricate part of putting WDW News Today on the map. For this, we proudly induct Steve Swanson into the WDW News Today Hall of Fame. In the immortal words of Kermit the Frog, let us celebrate with a “Yayyyyyyyyyyy”!!!

Luke “The British Kid” Manning (Inducted February 8, 2009)

Since his debut on the WDW News Today Podcast back on November 4, 2007, Luke Manning has been a valuable member of the WDWNT family and the butt of thousands of jokes. Luke became a regular guest on the weekly WDWNT Podcast and quickly became a source of constant comic relief for the staff and listeners alike. After the precipitous end of the Disney Resorts Kingdom and its plethora of Disney-park-related podcasts (far too many to mention, and we certainly don’t want to rehash the bad memories), Luke had a short-lived hosting gig with a weekly podcast called Pod Disney. After a few weeks hosting that program, Luke approached WDW News Today owner Tom Corless for suggestions on how to make a fresh start with a promising future. Little did Luke know that Tom was planning on starting a Disneyland-focused version of WDW News Today based on the results of a 2008 survey, and was looking for a local southern Californian familiar with the Resort to lead the new brand. Luke was overjoyed with the idea of running a website that would report news from the Disneyland Resort daily and hosting the only weekly podcast focusing on current events at “The Happiest Place on Earth”. On February 8, 2008 (the 7th anniversary of Disney’s California Adventure), Disneyland News Today was launched to bring people the “Ideals, Dreams, and Hard Facts” of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. DLNT (as it is often referred to) has come along at a great time in Disneyland history, on the verge of a billion dollar expansion plan for the entire vacation destination that is sure to keep the future projects of the website and podcast constantly exciting for years to come. It certainly helps that the optimistic Manning always focuses on the positive, keeping the spirit of Disneyland alive and reminding us all “that Disneyland will never be complete as long as there is imagination left in the world”.  Since the website and podcast launched over a year ago, Luke has steered this part of the WDWNT Network to new heights (or lows, depending on your perspective) and will hopefully continue to bring us a little closer to the place he calls “Paradise Baby!”.

John “The Pin Guy” Rick (Inducted March 4, 2009)

When Tom Corless emailed the founder of the Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders, John Rick, to tell him that he was coming to their very popular pin trading weekend event titled “Swap Till’ You Drop” in the fall of 2007, few could have imagined the impact that this one event could have had on the future of the WDW News Today website. WDW News Today was still a young, struggling website at the time, but Tom was interested in coming to the Disney Pin Trading event and writing a review that would perhaps get the group a little more notoriety. However, the interactions that Tom would have with a select few at the event would be surprisingly far more positive for the WDWNT Network. While at the event, Tom met Mr. Rick for the first time and began discussing the idea of a pin trading segment on the weekly WDW News Today Podcast. During the course of the same day, Tom would meet Jason Diffendal for the first time as well, eventually leading to Jason becoming part of WDW News Today and Tom becoming part of WDWCelebrations. A few weeks after the event, Tom approached John about beginning a weekly segment on the show dedicated to Disney Pin Trading starting in early 2008. John was ecstatic and could not wait to begin. The Disney Pin Trading segment debuted on the WDW News Today Podcast on January 20, 2008 as part of episode #26. While the segment was often skipped over by those who disliked the hobby, a number of listeners met the segment with an open mind and found themselves suddenly interested in purchasing pieces of metal with their favorite Disney characters on them. Whether they were already collecting pins or were inspired to do so by Tom and John, the popularity of the unique segment was undeniable and after only a few weeks of being part of the WDWNT Podcast (and being accidentally deleted by Tom Corless), the segment would become its own show. On March 12th, 2008, the first podcast dedicated to Disney Pin Trading was launched under the name of “The Disney Pincast”. Hosted by Tom and John, the show would cover weekly pin releases, the history of the hobby, and offer an inside look other sources could not. The show was so revolutionary, that it gathered an extremely devoted fan-base and the recognition of those who actually produce the very pins the show discusses in just its first year of existence. These great feats can be attributed to the amazing devotion of John Rick to the hobby and to the show. Even during horrible illnesses and wonderful vactions, John was willing to put together a show and was always enthusiastic to do so. For these reasons and many others, we proudly induct John Rick into the WDWNT Hall of Fame and look forward to what he may pull out the his “sorcerer’s hat” in the future.

Jason “The Beard” Diffendal (Inducted June 28, 2009)

As stated with the induction of John Rick into the WDWNT Hall of Fame earlier this year, Tom Corless could have never imagined the tremendous impact it would have on the future of WDW News Today and the WDWNT Network when he attended the Central Jersey Disney Pin Trader’s “Swap Till You Drop” event in the fall of 2007. It was at this event that Tom met Jason Diffendal on the heels of a very successful Celebration 25 at Epcot, the fan-created event that launched WDWCelebrations. Not long after this meeting, Tom invited Jason to be a permanent co-host on his fledgling WDW News Today Podcast. Jason would debut on Episode #17, best remembered for being one of the strangest, yet funniest shows in the podcast’s short history. Despite the shaky start, Jason stayed on board and helped the program break through it’s rough, early shows and find it’s true identity. Jason became a staple of the WDWNT Podcast’s two defining segments beginning in early 2007, being one of the focal “scientists” on the “Back to the Future” Walt Disney World history segment, and frequently helping with the preparation (and hosting duties on one occasion) for the “Disney Don’t Forget the Lyrics” game show. He would also lend his talents to the first two parody shows in WDWNT history, the 2007 and 2008 editions of the Christmas Podcast Parade, both writing and starring in various segments, as well as taking co-hosting duties for the 2nd Annual show. Jason earned his nickname of “The Beard” very quickly while working here, it’s simply because of the facial hair he so proudly sports. Jason has always been there for the WDWNT Network, (even during his short time away from it in early 2009) all while handling a core team position at WDWCelebrations, a full time real job, and a family including two young girls and his wife, Angel. “The Beard” has been a leading member of the WDWNT Network staff for almost two years and will continue to guide the younger members of the team far beyond his induction into the WDW News Today Hall of Fame.

Brian “The Voice” Sommer (Inducted June 28, 2009)

Those familiar with A Window to the Magic and the Extinct Attractions Club already know his voice, and probably his name as well. Brian Sommer has such a unique and energetic voice that he can make even the most mundane messages truly exciting. Brian has been lending that incredible voice to the WDW News Today Podcast since the first-ever Christmas Podcast Parade aired on episode #23 back in late-2007. It was on that show that he was actually the very first person to utter the famous acronym we now use so widely, WDWNT. Right from the start, it was clear that Brian would read pretty much anything asked of him by Tom Corless, and those who listen to the WDWNT Network podcasts quite regularly have probably heard Brian take on a few different personalities. Who could forget when we were were told to join the Brian Sommer school of podcast announcing on the 2nd Annual Christmas Podcast Parade, when we were taken back to the 1960’s on the episode 90 World’s Fair special, or when director Guy Le Flure casted us to be a part a star-studded episode 92. Brian also opens and closes each and every episode of the Disneyland News Today Podcast and the Disney Pincast, and has since their very first episodes. Brian continues to amaze all that hear his voice, wether it be in popular video games or on “obscure” Disney fan podcasts. After he has welcomed us to so many WDWNT Network podcasts, it is our honor to welcome him to the WDW News Today Hall of Fame.

Jose “The Apple Guy” Castillo (Inducted June 28, 2009)

Jose Castillo began his journey through the Disney online community as a moderator and web designer for the Inside the Magic Forums. While working there, Jose would ban Luke Manning from those forums for being “obnoxious”, somehow leading Luke to bring Jose on as a regular guest on the now defunct Everything Disney Resort Podcast. Following that, Jose would design and host the website for the also defunct Pod Disney show hosted by Luke. Once Luke was approached regarding Disneyland News Today, Jose decided to make the WDWNT Network his permanent home. As soon as he came on the scene, everything received a technological boost. Jose introduced the enhanced podcasts right away (while touting his love for Apple products and applications), instantly wowing the WDWNT staff and audience. Since that time, he has designed websites for a number of projects including Your Ear to the World, The Disney Pincast, WDWNT Network Community Forums, Disneyland News Today, WDWNT.com, the WDWNTube, and WDWNTunes. Jose has also had his moments of stardom on some of the podcasts, getting the opportunity to talk about some his work regularly on Town Square Talk and had a large role in the 2nd annual Christmas Podcast Parade. He also brought a major renovation to the WDW News Today website in early 2009, and is constantly making changes to keep the site ahead of the competition. The WDWNT Network will undoubtedly continue to grow and keep ahead of the curve as long as Hall of Famer Jose Castillo is behind the scenes at WDWNT.

Tom “The Boss” Corless (Inducted July 8, 2010)

Three years ago, it all started with a man and a dream.  That dream was to fill a space in the Walt Disney World online community by bringing daily news about Walt Disney World to the fans. Tonight we, the staff of WDWNT, induct Tom “The Boss” Corless into our WDWNT Hall of Fame. Back then, the idea was simple: start a website that is updated each and every day with news and info about the Walt Disney World Resort. But as we would all soon learn, Tom is the idea man here, and would soon make attempts to expand.  Unfortunately some of those expansion plans included such bad ideas as WDW Dining Today, but there certainly were more successful sites such as our west coast spin off Disneyland News Today, our video site WDWNTube, and our streaming audio site WDWNTunes.

Tom’s ideas also included some more radical ones.  None of us could ever forget his bright idea to have an entire website and podcast devoted to nothing but little metal pins, the highly successful Disney Pincast.  Building on the success of the Pincast, next came an entire website about small plastic Mickey shaped toys, The Vinylmation Station.

To celebrate the summer of our third anniversary, a completely new concept that has changed the podcasting community yet again, Tom’s own late night talk show, “See Ya Real Late” with Tom Corless. Tom “The Boss” is also a very gracious and engaging manager.  Tom never turns down an idea from any of the staff.  Whether it was Justin “The Mayor” Heyman with the WDWNT Network Community Forums, Jason Diffendal with Disney Don’t Forget the Lyrics, various staff members’ contributions to the Christmas podcast parades, new original programming for WDWNTunes, or a redesign of the website, Tom is all too happy to let us take an idea and run with it. Tom is a great friend to us all, and through his vision, he has enabled each of us to provide something special to this wonderful Disney Fan Community. For that we thank him and tonight, on our third anniversary, we hereby induct Tom “The Boss” Corless into the WDWNT Hall Of Fame.

Chris “The Utility Player” Lastrapes (Inducted January 19, 2011)

It was the Summer of 2008 and a time of great change at WDWNT. WDW News Today was just turning a year old and the fledgling Disneyland News Today spin-off was still trying to find it’s legs. After months of segments featuring WDW News Today podcasters, DLNT finally sought out it’s own podcasting team. Among the second group to come on-board was a young Chris Lastrapes, who replied to the call Luke Manning put out for new staff on the show. Chris was interviewed for the job by Tom Corless and Luke Manning and infamously recalled that neither of them mentioned anything about salary. Despite the revelation that the position was voluntary, Chris stayed on board, appearing regularly on the old Disneyland News Today Podcast from August 2008 through February 2009. Chris continued to make appearances on DLNT after that, but spent most of his free time on the WDW News Today Podcast.

Lastrapes made his debut on the WDWNT Podcast just a few weeks into his illustrious run on September 14th, participating in one of the first games of “Where in the World is Tom Corless?”. While Chris did not win that game, he did win the fourth spot in the “Back to the Future” segment after the departure of John Corigliano. Chris would fill this spot until Scott Smith was brought on to the show in 2009, but still continued to appear in various segments on the show beyond this point.

When Disneyland News Today was re-founded in late 2009 following a walk-out of most of the staff, Chris also picked up the slack by contributing photos and videos to the site. He also appeared on early episodes of the NEW Disneyland News Today Podcast to help guide the mostly new staff through the unknown territory. Lastrapes also holds the distinction of recording the most-watched video in the history of the WDWNTube with the world premiere of World of Color, taken during the media event in June 2010.

However, Chris may be most well known for his performance in the annual Christmas Podcast Parade. He was so well-received in a bit that was not even written for him in the 2008 parade that he was given the hosting duties for the 2009 show. Not only did he host that year’s parade, he also stole the show during the “WDWNT: Does Epcot” commercial with his performance of the Test Track theme song. His performances even garnered him awards at the first-ever and last-ever “Tommy” awards in 2010 for “Favorite WDWNT: Does Epcot Song” and “Favorite Vocal Performance”.

Based on his unique brand of comedy showcased in the parade, Chris was hand picked to be co-host when WDWNT Network decided to launch the first-ever Disney fan late night talk show in the Summer of 2010. His interactions with show regulars Tom Corless & Jose Castillo, special guests, and the many strange characters portrayed by a host of others helped “See Ya’ Real Late” become the most listened to live show the Disney online community has ever seen.

Chris officially departed from WDWNT Network with the completion of The Transformerscast parody show in September 2010. However, Chris has still made several appearances on the Disneyland News Today Podcast, a cameo in the Christmas Podcast Parade, an is currently producing his next WDWNTunes project, “TROM: Legacy”. While Chris had many nicknames during his time at WDWNT (“Cookie”, “Strapies”, and maybe a few that can’t be written here) we refer to him lovingly as “The Utility Guy” for the wide array of very different projects he was able to excel at during his time with us. Perhaps no one has had as many different roles throughout the WDWNT Network as Chris Lastrapes, and for this he has earned a spot in the WDWNT Network Hall of Fame.

Brian “The History Guy” Martsolf (Inducted January 19th, 2011)

Brian Martsolf has been an active member of the Disney online community for many years, most commonly known for his website cataloging Disney World postcards, the still active “Mousin’ It Up” podcast, and attendance in the pre-cursor to all other internet Disney fan meets, RADP. Brian started as a listener of the WDW News Today Podcast and first appeared on the show in an edition of the “Where in the World is Tom Corless?” game show. Brian won that game and his prize was an opportunity to host the WDWNT Podcast. Instead of taking hosting duties on that show, Brian opted to take over an episode of the Your Ear to the World podcast. Since Brian had already been presenting binaural in-park audio on “Mousin’ It Up”, hosting and producing Your Ear to the World came naturally. WDWNT management loved Brian’s episode so much, he was offered the full time hosting gig for that show, a job he gladly accepted. Brian’s episodes of the show included a ton of unique in-park entertainment (along with some attraction audio), perhaps the reason why the episodes he hosted were the most popular the show had seen since it’s inception. Brian hosted that show through it’s demise in June 2009 as part of the addition of WDWNTunes. However, this would not be the last job he held at WDWNT.

Brian made his first Disneyland News Today podcast appearance on the World’s Fair anniversary spectacular in April 2009. WDWNT was so impressed with his performance that in the Summer of 2009, he was transferred over to the Disneyland News Today Podcast to bring a wealth of Disneyland historical knowledge to the table. Sadly, only a few weeks later, the rest of the Disneyland News Today podcast team walked out to start an eerily similar program, leaving Brian’s role at WDWNT once again up in the air. Brian was made aware the WDWNT Network still had faith in a Disneyland-based podcast and that he would be surrounded by a new team of podcasters once the NEW DLNT Podcast debuted in January 2009. Since the debut of that show, Brian has continued to share his vast knowledge of “The Happiest Place on Earth” (and perhaps a song via his voice or kazoo) with the world through the “Disneyland Graveyard” and “This Week in Disneyland History”. It is through these contributions that “the history guy” makes WDWNT history (and finds new ways to keep on mousin’ it up) by joining the WDWNT Network hall of fame.

Adam “The Boy Wonder” Roth (Inducted July 1st, 2011)

Adam rose to stardom as one of the most important players in bringing about a fan celebration of Epcot’s 25th anniversary in 2007. The event was a huge success and gained an unprecedented amount of attention within the community, thus launching WDWCelebrations.com. After meeting Jason Diffendal in the Fall of 2007, Tom Corless was made a core team member of the group as they embarked upon more events. Adam was hired as a reporter & podcast team member for WDW News Today in late 2007, just days after Tom was hired by WDWCelebrations.

Adam first appeared on the WDWNT Podcast was in episode 19 on December 2, 2007. On March 3, 2008, Adam began guest starring on the podcast in one of the longest-running yet most infrequent segments ever, “Expedition EveRoth”. After over 3 years, there have been only 5 editions of this segment, and at points there was a one-and-a-half year gap between editions. Regardless, they were memorable and notable appearances. The edition from episode 47 marked the first time that a discussion was held the focused on the rest of Orlando’s theme parks and not Walt Disney World. As well, episode 157 featured an in-depth look at Star Wars Celebration V and the Last Tour to Endor event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Adam had his largest role on the podcast in the 2008 Christmas Podcast Parade, co-hosting the annual tradition along with Jason Diffendal. Despite audio problems, collapsing stages, and falling lights, Adam stuck through the entire show and created his “on-air persona” of the egomaniacal, self-absorbed, boy-wonder who we can assure you is nothing like his real personality.

The main reason Adam has been inducted is the “on-again, off-again” partnership between WDWCelebrations and WDW News Today. Since striking the arrangement in 2007, both WDWNT and WDWCelebrations have had tremendous success in the Disney online community. It is hard to argue that both have been important in the other’s  success, with each WDWCelebrations event introducing new audience members to our family, and promotion through WDWNT postings and programming driving up attendance at each fan-created event. The partnership has even grown to include Disneyland News Today as the group embarked on their first Disneyland Resort-based event in 2010. The dedication of both sides to this partnership is at the heart & soul of the WDWNT Network philosophy of producing content by and for Disney fans.

Adam’s dedication to his work at WDW News Today and success as co-founder of WDWCelebrations.com have been unparalleled over the last 4 years, making him easily the most over-due inductee in the history of the WDWNT Network Hall of Fame.

Anthony “The Voice Actor” Yacullo (Inducted July 1st, 2011)

Responding to a tweet sent by WDWNT looking for some new podcast team members, Anthony was interviewed and hired as podcast staff in Early 2009. Anthony made his first appearance on the WDW News Today Podcast on March 29, 2009.

Anthony was one of the participants in what might be the most memorable WDWNT Podcast segments ever, the first edition of “The Top 10” covering the best attractions at Walt Disney World. During the segment, he famously stated “You are not the first to be ‘underwhelmed’ by this attraction  However, it was in a later edition where Anthony made his mark with his catchphrase “Fun-Nom-Nom-Nominal” while describing flatbreads at Contempo Cafe.

In December 2009, Anthony stepped-up in a big way to aid in the production of the Disney Pincast after the editor of the show walked out. He may have not necessarily volunteered for the job, but because he had a computer capable of producing the enhanced programs, the position was filled. Anthony would be introduced to the pin trading community at this time, becoming an active member of the Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders and aiding in live Disney Pincast shows that happen at the weekend-long CJDPT events.

Also in December 2009, Anthony voiced a number of characters in the 3rd Annual Christmas Podcast Parade including Bullwinkle J. Moose, but it was a talking bottle of wine named Winey that instantly became a smash hit. Winey has since become the beloved mascot of the WDWNT Network, becoming a star of all of the Network’s comedy shows. Anthony would not be tight-casted because of this as he went on to voice 14 separate characters in the 2010 Christmas Podcast Parade, a record that will probably never be broken.

In 2011, Anthony became the co-host for the second season of “See Ya’ Real Late” with Tom Corless on WDWNTunes. After the departure of Chris Lastrapes, Tom needed a co-host and Anthony was a perfect fit… mostly because he was willing to do it. Yacullo and his cast of characters such as Winey and Randy Rumor helped ease the transition into the second season’s new format and ease tensions between controversial moments.

Despite not being a regular reporter for the WDW News Today website, Anthony has broken his fair share of large stories. Not only did he post the very first recording of the new Tomorrowland Transit Authority spiel in October 2009, he also discovered concept art revealing the changes that would eventually take place in the hitchhiking ghost scene of the Haunted Mansion in 2011. Both of these reports led to two of highest traffic days in the history of WDWNewsToday.com.

In addition to all this, Anthony has always been on call for any technical issues that arise. On multiple occasions, he has served as tech-support for the entire WDWNT Network, making sure that sites and podcasts are always available for everyone to enjoy.

For his memorable characters, contributions to the podcast team, and willingness to help out with any project in need, Anthony Yacullo is a deserving member of the WDWNT Network Hall of Fame.

Conner “The Polish Hammer” Purzycki (Inducted February 8th, 2012)

After being interviewed by Tom Corless and Luke Manning for a photographer position in May 2009, Conner Purzycki was hired at the tender age of 16 years old. The young picture-taker wasted no time making an impact, providing his first photo report in early June and posting the first videos of “Magical!” and the enhanced “Fantasmic!”. Since then, Conner has provided over 35 of his own reports on DisneylandNewsToday.com.

When he attended the WDWNT Network’s first fan meets on the west coast just a few weeks later, he was caught texting on his phone, “This is not at all what I expected”. Surprisingly, he wasn’t stating this in a negative way and would remain despite meeting a good portion of the Network staff.

Following the mass-walkout of the DLNT staff in late 2009, Conner remained and continued to provide photo reports. By the time the DLNT Podcast returned in January 2010, Conner was taking over the job of lead reporter, posting every story on the site. When the Disneyland News Today Podcast needed a new team member in May 2010, Conner would step up to the opportunity as well. It was only a few weeks before Conner was helping in the editing and production of the show as well. He was made the new vice president of Disneyland News Today that Summer, looking over the popular website and podcast in every facet. Since that time, the website has broken numerous important stories and the podcast has hit new records in listenership.

Conner has also been an important part of WDWNT’s comedy shows, playing leading roles on both the Christmas Podcast Parade and “See Ya’ Real Late”. While we often pointed out his young age, Conner was always willing to do just about anything for a laugh. His” remote” pieces for “See Ya’ Real Late” were a highlight of the second season, despite the fact that we only actually sent him somewhere on one occasion.

Conner has also covered his fair share of media events, covering the premiere of Mickey’s Soundsational Parade, and the opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Goofy’s Sky School, Paradise Garden Grill, and Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta. He also represented DLNT at the 2011 D23 Expo.

Even though he still hasn’t seen most Disney movies, orders effeminate pink drinks, and is a disappointment to his fake father, we are proud to welcome the now adult Conner Purzycki to the WDWNT Network Hall of Fame.

Jamie “The Girl” Nakagiri (Inducted February 8th, 2013)

Bio Coming Soon

Sean “The Funny Guy” Dickey (Inducted February 8th, 2013)

Bio Coming Soon

John “The Video Guy” Corigliano (Inducted July 8th, 2016)

Bio Coming Soon

Patty “When Did You Need That Done By?” Granger (Inducted July 8th, 2016)

Bio Coming Soon

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