Welcome Aboard Thrill Seekers and Adventure Lovers
by Mike's Podcast
- If you’ve ever worked at a Theme Park, Waterpark or Guest Service Provider of any type, or had friends/relatives have.- If you’ve ever visited a Theme Park and wondered what it’s like to work there, and what goes on behind the scenes.- Have you ever wondered what it was like before, during and after the Opening of Walt Disney World in 1971?- Are you curious about attractions in other countries?- Did you ever dream about designing and building roller coasters or Waterparks?- Then this podcast is for you, and the E-ticket is free.
Episodes
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The King Wanted a Disney Bride
S3-E6: The King Wanted a Disney Bride Whatdo a Disney Ambassador, a reigning king, a hurricane-threatened yacht basin,and Walt Disney World's 55th Anniversary have in common? Quitea lot, actually. JoinMike as he reunites with fellow Opening Day cast members during Walt DisneyWorld's 55th...
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Should've Been A Commercail
Season 3, Episode 5:Should've Been a Commercial Beforethe Summit Bechtel Reserve became a world-class high adventure destination, itwas 10,600 acres of rugged West Virginia wilderness connected by little morethan logging roads and good intentions. Inthis episode, Mike takes you back to the winter...
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The Forgotten Attraction
S3 – E4 The Forgotten Attraction. What if one of Walt Disney World'smost impressive opening-day attractions simply vanished... not because itfailed, but because another Disney park wanted it? In this episode, Mike Patrick takesa nostalgic trip back to the early days of Walt Disney World and…
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Disney's Wipeout
S3 – E3 Disney's Wipeout: The Surf MachineThat Worked Too Well BeforeSpace Mountain, before EPCOT, and before Walt Disney World became the vacationgiant we know today, Disney was experimenting with some truly wild ideas. Inthis episode, Mike takes you back to 1971 and explores one of the...
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River Country; Disney's Forgotten Waterpark
🌊 Before there wasTyphoon Lagoon... before there was Blizzard Beach... there was River Country. Inthis episode, we journey back to Walt Disney World's very first water park, arustic swimmin' hole on the shores of Bay Lake that helped pioneer the modernthemed water park experience. From rope…
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The Little Train That Didn't
All aboard for a forgotten chapterof Walt Disney World history. In this episode, Mike travels backto 1973, when Fort Wilderness was rapidly expanding and Disney was building anambitious steam railroad through the campground. What began as an exciting newtransportation system quickly became an...
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My Gal Sal Pt 2
Episode Description: In this episode, we close the incredible story of MyGal Sal, the B‑17 bomber that spent decades buried in Greenland’s ice.You’ll hear how she was found, studied, rescued, restored, and ultimatelyhonored in a way no one could have imagined. This chapter also brings together...
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MY GAL SAL Pt.1
Episode Description — My Gal Sal, Part 1 An American B‑17 that never fired a shot becomes one of WWII’s most unlikely legends. In this episode, skipper and storyteller Mike Patrick takes you deep into the astonishing real‑life saga of My Gal Sal, B‑17E serial number 41‑9032 — a bomber whose…
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I Couldn't Live Like That
S2 - E10🎙️ Episode Description Two rivers of adventure converge in this episode of The Prospectors Podcast. Host Mike Patrick shares the story of how a classic Hudson & Landry sketch — “The Prospectors” — shaped his first day at Busch Gardens Tampa in 1976. Then, listener Harriet recounts a...
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"It Was Just a Joke"
S2 – E9 "It was Just a Joke" A stowaway in the killer whale pool, a shock‑jockradio hoax, and a corporate showdown that nearly pulled millions in advertisingdollars—Season 2, Episode 9 dives into one of the wildest weeks in SeaWorldOrlando history. Host Mike Patrick recounts the aftermath of the...
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Mission Creep
🎙️ S2 • E8 — Mission Creep! Fifty years. Five continents. Countless missions. Oneincredible journey. In this episode, Mike Patrick takes you around the worldthrough a lifetime of faith‑based service, disaster relief deployments, and theunforgettable moments that shaped his perspective on...
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Flying Over & On The WV Turnpike
Short Description — S2 • E7 Mike Patrick returns with two wild Summit Stories — a downhill bike crash that leads to a helicopter ride, and a high‑speed sprint down the WV Turnpike to reunite an injured camper with his interpreter. Plus, a legendary poker game at Thurmond’s Dun Glen Hotel that...
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S2-E6 Summit 1,000 Days to Jamboree
S2 - E6 1,000 Days till Jamboree A 3 a.m. call in Abu Dhabi. A $50 million gift. Ten thousandacres of raw wilderness. And a deadline: 1,000 days. In this episode, MikePatrick reveals the high‑stakes, high‑adventure story behind the creation ofthe Summit Bechtel Family Reserve — the permanent home...
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Formula Pizza
The Pizza That Had to Be Perfect” In the fall of 2010, Mike Patrick arrived in Abu Dhabi tohelp open the world’s fastest roller coaster — but the story that stole theshow wasn’t about speed at all. It was about a pizza. This episode takes you behind the scenes of Ferrari World’sGrand Opening: the...
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S2 -E4 Bristol Zoo Legend
For decades, one story has bounced around the attractions world like gospel:a mysterious man in a tiny booth outside Bristol Zoo quietly collecting parkingfees for twenty years… only for everyone to discover he didn’t work for anyone. A perfect scam. A perfect legend. Andcompletely untrue. In…
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Suez Canal Caper
S2 • E3 — The Suez Canal Caper What happens when a determined dad in Cairo decides he’sgoing to surprise his son aboard a 900‑foot U.S. container ship… in the middleof the night… in the Red Sea? In this episode, Mike pulls off one of hisboldest adventures yet: a clandestine 1:30 a.m. boarding of...
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Never Heard That Story
In this episode Mike Salutes Memorial Day and shares a harrowing story of Naval history and heroism that his family never knew before his Dad's passing in March. He also teases an upcoming story about a crashed B-17 heading for England in 1942 and is now on display in the National WWII museum in...
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30 Feet - not 30 Meters..........
S2 E1 30 feet, not 30 meters…… Description A simple measurement error turns a 30‑foot dive tower into a 90‑foot monster— and suddenly Mike is the only one crazy enough to climb it. In this season‑openingepisode, Mike takes you behind the scenes of Everland’s massive waterparkproject in South…
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Don't Swim With Shamu!
Podcast Description — Season 1, Episode 15: Don’t Swim Shamu A quiet July morning at SeaWorld Orlando turns into one ofthe most unforgettable moments of Mike Patrick’s career. In this grippingbackstage story, Mike—then Director of Operations—recounts the shockingdiscovery of a man who hid in the...
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Sorry Sir, Disney Doesn't Acccept American Express
S1 E14 –Sorry Sir, Disney Doesn’t Take American Express (Podcast Description) Afurious hotel guest. A rejected American Express card. A crowded dining room.And watching it all from the next table… Dick Nunis himself. In thisepisode, Mike takes listeners back to 1974 and his early days at...
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Admiral Overboard! (sort of)
S1E#13 AdmiralOverboard (“sort of”) A dawn rendezvous with a Navy destroyer, six‑footGulf waves, a furious Bos’n, and one very determined RearAdmiral—what could possibly go wrong? In thisepisode, Mike rides out with the Coast Guard to welcome USS Mitscher (DDG‑57)into Tampa Bay… only to witness a...
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S1E11 "Faster Than a Saturn V Baby!"
S1‑E11 — “Faster Than a Saturn V, Baby” On Good Friday 2010, Ifinally strapped into the back seat of an F‑15 Eagle after four years of waiting, one groundedjet, and a detour living in Cairo. What followed was the wildest E‑Ticket ride of my life — avertical launch, nine G's, a supersonic run over...
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Dad 03/29/1930 - 03/28/2026
Mike takes an emotional moment to pay tribute to his Dad's passing on 3/28/26, and manages to recover and share a couple of unscripted stories about Harleys and Shoplifters. He also tells how the Polynesian Hotel and the New River Gorge Bridge share several things in common. And how one element…
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Only Two Kinds of Motorcycles
S1E9: Two Kinds of Motorcycle A childhood of banana‑seat bikes and SteveMcQueen reenactments leads Mike into a lifetime of two‑wheel adventures—froma sputtering 90cc Yamaha to a Harley Street Bob at age 60. Along the way comelove bugs, sand‑coveredS‑curves,West Virginia mountain rides, a storm…
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Almost Died, but I Didn't Get Hurt
S1E8 Almost Died, But I Didn’t Get Hurt Description. A simple trip to inspect a movie prop turns into a full‑blownaviation thriller when Mike’s Cessnalines up to land on a quiet grass runway…only to find a twin‑engine Beechcraft coming straight at him from theopposite direction with no radio, no...
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S1E7 Hope this Anti-Rollback Holds
Podcast Episode Description –S1 E7: “Hope That Anti‑RollbackHolds” When a brand‑new roller coaster breaks down onthe busiest week of the year, twenty‑four guests end up stranded on a45‑degreelift hill… and a young area manager named MikePatrick finds himself climbing into the sky to get them…
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Ft. Wilderness UFO Encounter
Episode 6: Fort Wilderness UFO Encounter A fog‑shrouded road. A silent, toweringshape hovering in the darkness. And one exhausted Disney cast member drivinghome at 2:30 a.m. who suddenly isn’t so surehe’s alone out there. In this episode, Mike relives the night he came face‑to‑facewith something...
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The Scavengers
E5 — “Fort Wilderness Scavengers” In this episode, Mike Patrick heads back to the wild earlydays of Walt Disney World to tell the true story of how Fort Wilderness wentfrom an underfunded experiment to one of the most beloved corners of theVacation Kingdom. You’ll hear how the Recreation team —…
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Launching the Brand
Join Mike Patrick, veteran themed entertainment professionaland storyteller, as he takes you behind the scenes of the beer business andtheme park operations in "Launching the Brand." In this episode, Mikeshares insider stories from his time at Busch Gardens and Anheuser-Busch,revealing the...
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If you wait until you're ready open, you'll never open.
Episode 3 “If You Wait Until You’reReady to Open, You’ll Never Open” Step back into the final,frantic 90 days before Walt Disney World opened its gates in 1971. In thisepisode, Mike Patrick takes you behind the construction walls and into theorganized chaos of a project racing the clock — where...
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The Road to Disney Part Deux
S1E2: The Road to Disney; Part Deux Step back into1970s Orlando—long before the theme parks, traffic jams, and endless souvenirshops—as Mike Patrick continues his true story of how an ordinary 18‑year‑oldkid found himself on the front lines of opening Walt Disney World. In this secondepisode of…
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The road to Disney Part1
In this premiere episode entitled *The Road to Disney*, MikePatrick shares the unlikely, entertaining, and inspiring true story of how an18‑year‑old kid—barely out of high school—landed a job helping open Walt DisneyWorld in 1971. From Red Cross swim lessons in Ohio, to lifeguarding for theU.S....
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Trailer
Introduction to new Podcast "Welcome Aboard Thrill Seekers and Adventure Lovers"
About this show
- If you’ve ever worked at a Theme Park, Waterpark or Guest Service Provider of any type, or had friends/relatives have.- If you’ve ever visited a Theme Park and wondered what it’s like to work there, and what goes on behind the scenes.- Have you ever wondered what it was like before, during and after the Opening of Walt Disney World in 1971?- Are you curious about attractions in other countries?- Did you ever dream about designing and building roller coasters or Waterparks?- Then this podcast is for you, and the E-ticket is free.
Hosted by
Mike's Podcast
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