Pls help me with the connections/history of the podcast crew

[GeneralTso]

I watched the 10th anniversary show and it was fantastic.
I'm a relatively new viewer (6 months or so?) so just now learning who is who. Pete's intro was great at connecting some dots but I'm still a bit confused. Here's what I gleaned:

• Corey & Julie are married with 2 little sweet peas
• Corey & Pete go waaaay back, lots of history
• John is Pete's ex
• Kevin and John are together
• Craig & Oliver are newer and doing a bang up job
• Ryno is a video genius

Some questions:

• Is Kathy the widow of the gentleman who passed recently?
• I missed the Theresa's relationship connection, I heard sister-in-law but to whom?
• Someone named Dustin seems very missed and departed unexpectedly. Did he pass away as well?

Any and all insight greatly appreciated. I really enjoyed hearing the history, etc. I had no idea it was recorded in Pete's house!

 

[jcb]

Some questions:

• Is Kathy the widow of the gentleman who passed recently?
• I missed the Theresa's relationship connection, I heard sister-in-law but to whom?
• Someone named Dustin seems very missed and departed unexpectedly. Did he pass away as well?

Any and all insight greatly appreciated. I really enjoyed hearing the history, etc. I had no idea it was recorded in Pete's house!

• No. Bob Varley passed away in April 2008. Kathy joined the podcast a little while afterwards. She is, however, a widow. Her husband passed away before she moved to Florida.
  
• Teresa is the sister-in-law to Walter Echols. Pete and Walter were together when Teresa came to work for the DIS.
• Dustin produced the podcast before Craig. So far as we know, Dustin is quite alive.

 

[Accident]

I was trying to find the most recent how we got here epsiodes but they seem to be escaping me at the moment. They are a good watch for how everyone ended up in orlando and on the show... I want to say early 2015 might be the last one they did but it might be in 2014...

It's worth starting to go backwards, especially since about 8 months ago there was double shows for orlando where 1 was the news and the other was a topic about the parks so it's great to see the insight of things that is a little lost after dustin left and the second show stopped happening.

 

[AyraBelle]

Get To Know The Team - 05/12/15

This show is from May last year so some people have come and gone but it's what I watched when I started watching live (rather than listening) and it really helped me get up to speed on the team dynamic.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Get To Know The Team - 05/12/15

This show is from May last year so some people have come and gone but it's what I watched when I started watching live (rather than listening) and it really helped me get up to speed on the team dynamic.

Will be great to rewatch, thanx!

Watching this again, and very much enjoying. Just started, and hit Craig's introduction, and remember the reaction I had the 1st time seeing this, and I just did again "I LOVE the movie The Jerk", and cracked UP at his opening line from the movie!!

You can also DEFINITELY see how much weight Pete's lost! Bravo again, sir!!

 

[bamacmac]

Oliver is the newest team member...he started in April of this year. Ryno started sometime last year. Dustin was a huge part of the podcast going to video. Craig has been there a few years now and stepped into the producer role when Dustin left.

 

[GeneralTso]

Really good video! Thank you for posting it.
I agree, Pete's weight loss is awesome. It's not easy and he did it. What a difference.

It's such a solid team. Good job all the way around.

 

[samsteele]

You can also DEFINITELY see how much weight Pete's lost! Bravo again, sir!!

Wow! Its like he dropped 15 yrs of age. Fountain of Youth stuff. Very impressed.
I remember watching this video when it went up and thinking, "I really like how Pete has styled his hair." I still like the hair but the complete transformation is just incredible & so positive. Hopefully inspiring for many DIS'rs.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

Thanks for this question. Some additional questions.

• What was Bob Varley's role?
• Which came first: the travel agency, the DIS Boards, or the podcast? Does Pete own all three?

 

[rteetz]

Thanks for this question. Some additional questions.

• What was Bob Varley's role?
• Which came first: the travel agency, the DIS Boards, or the podcast? Does Pete own all three?

Bob Varley was a podcast member. You can find plenty of shows called bob memorial shows about his story.

Disboards was first and turns 20 next year! Pete owns at least a piece of all three. The travel agency is also owned by John and one other woman who's name I forgot.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Thanks for this question. Some additional questions.

• What was Bob Varley's role?
• Which came first: the travel agency, the DIS Boards, or the podcast? Does Pete own all three?

Actually - if you watch the 10th anniversary show - done live this past Mon., http://www.disboards.com/threads/dis-unplugged-10th-anniversary-show.3530220/ those questions should all be answered for you. If you watch the video linked in a message a few above this one, that also has some of the info you're looking for.

Thanx also Ryan, for helping with some info! I usually get confused when I try to answer these types of questions, since some of the answers are not always "straight out", know what I mean?

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

Actually - if you watch the 10th anniversary show - done live this past Mon., http://www.disboards.com/threads/dis-unplugged-10th-anniversary-show.3530220/ those questions should all be answered for you. If you watch the video linked in a message a few above this one, that also has some of the info you're looking for.

Thanx also Ryan, for helping with some info! I usually get confused when I try to answer these types of questions, since some of the answers are not always "straight out", know what I mean?

Yes I have watched to 10th anniversary show and several other shows, but this was not clear.
I gather that Bob Varley was a podcast member, but most of them seem to have other roles, such as travel agent, manager, etc. The podcast was great at describing the last 10 years but not what came before that.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Okay, sorry, was not clear on what was not clear. LOL. I think Bob started out as a friend and fan who had the original idea way before his time to go video, then morped into part of the original Team, and helping out with a lot of things in connection with a lot of different parts of the bunch of interconnecting and moving parts of the various businesses, and always stayed a friend. It's confusing, and confusing to explain. I never had the pleasure of meeting the man, but from what I understand, and from what I've seen in videos, etc., he was hilarious, genuine, caring, brilliant - and - at the bottom of it all - a true and loyal friend.

The other post above here with the May '15 show (if you haven't seen that one) does give more and/or different angles of the back story.

 

[rteetz]

Yes I have watched to 10th anniversary show and several other shows, but this was not clear.
I gather that Bob Varley was a podcast member, but most of them seem to have other roles, such as travel agent, manager, etc. The podcast was great at describing the last 10 years but not what came before that.

I suggest you listen the bob memorial shows. You'll learn a lot about where he came from.

 

[Aerin75]

I was really happy Pete and Kevin mentioned that Pete and John had been together - when I'd watched the how you got here episode I really thought that, but part of me wondered if it was another John, and I haven't been able to get back to the historical podcasts to clarify. It seemed weird to ask....

 

[SarahDisney]

I think that with new people joining the team and new listeners and viewers finding the show, they like to do "getting to know the team" shows every few years. The last one was May 2015, so I don't know that we're getting one any time soon, especially because the only new additions since that podcast are Steve and Olly, and Steve is currently temporarily (I think) gone.

The Bob memorial shows are really great for getting to know him. They do one every year in May (I think ... it's generally as close as they can get it to when he passed away). From what I understand, the podcast was something that Bob had wanted to do very early on, and Pete has said many times that it wouldn't have happened without Bob.

As far as I know, most of the members of the team also have some other role within the company, whether that's something on the travel side or something having to do with the site. I think the production team works primarily on the podcast, but they probably also help out with other things when its needed (I know that Craig does a lot of work on the content for the Universal site, but I don't know if Ryno and Olly also contribute to the site at all).

By the way ... I've been listening for less than a year. Everything I know, I know from listening to current and old podcasts (I'm just about finished with 2014). So if you're looking for more info about the team, it's out there ... you just have to find the time to listen to old shows (which I know is not always easy).

 

[DisneyKevin]

in order of appearance....

DIS Boards - owned by Pete
WDWInfo.com - owned by Pete
Dreams Unlimited Travel - owned by Pete, John and Donna

Bob Varley - passed in 2008. Started as friend and moderator on the DIS Boards. Founding Podcast member, friend etc,

At one time (15 years ago) John and Pete were together, then they weren't.
Kevin and John have been together since September 2001 (married 3/1/12).
At one time Pete and Walter were together, then they weren't.
Teresa is married to Walter's brother, making her Walter's sister in law.
Corey and Julie are married now, but have been together since before the Podcast started.
Kathy is widowed and not related to anyone on the Podcast
Craig is married to Kiley
Ryno and Oliver both have long term Partners.

The Podcast Team has evolved over the years.

Other folks, that have moved on, have been part the Podcast / DIS history.

Like any job anywhere, people come and people go. People leave positions for any number of reasons, none of which we can or want to discuss in an open discussion forum.

As these folks have been co-workers and friends, discussing their decisions / motivations / lives is something we choose to leave to them. Their story is their story. They should decide who hears it.

This has lead to conspiracy theories and occasional snarkiness, but i would suggest that if you wish to know their story....find and ask them.

I'm pretty sure we have shared our "life progression" throughout the Podcast and have done shows specifically explaining our origins.

If you want more in depth information....I'd look for those Podcasts.

 

[wilkeliza]

@DisneyKevin Thanks for the breakdown. I sometimes forget that wdwinfo and the Disboards are connected (I know how could I).

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

in order of appearance....

DIS Boards - owned by Pete
WDWInfo.com - owned by Pete
Dreams Unlimited Travel - owned by Pete, John and Donna

Bob Varley - passed in 2008. Started as friend and moderator on the DIS Boards. Founding Podcast member, friend etc,

At one time (15 years ago) John and Pete were together, then they weren't.
Kevin and John have been together since September 2001 (married 3/1/12).
At one time Pete and Walter were together, then they weren't.
Teresa is married to Walter's brother, making her Walter's sister in law.
Corey and Julie are married now, but have been together since before the Podcast started.
Kathy is widowed and not related to anyone on the Podcast
Craig is married to Kiley
Ryno and Oliver both have long term Partners.

The Podcast Team has evolved over the years.

Other folks, that have moved on, have been part the Podcast / DIS history.

Like any job anywhere, people come and people go. People leave positions for any number of reasons, none of which we can or want to discuss in an open discussion forum.

As these folks have been co-workers and friends, discussing their decisions / motivations / lives is something we choose to leave to them. Their story is their story. They should decide who hears it.

This has lead to conspiracy theories and occasional snarkiness, but i would suggest that if you wish to know their story....find and ask them.

I'm pretty sure we have shared our "life progression" throughout the Podcast and have done shows specifically explaining our origins.

If you want more in depth information....I'd look for those Podcasts.

Thanks. That is exactly what I wanted to know!

I am a relative newcomer. After buying points at VGF a couple of years ago I was looking for info on DVC and found a very nice community of people called the DIS Boards. Over time, I have started watching the podcasts, and getting to know the podcast people. It is easy to see why the boards have such a good tone (usually) when the core people involved are such great, open, vulnerable people. Thanks for catching me up.

 

[rmm7e]

I know that they've done podcasts detailing the history of the DIS and related businesses, but I think it would be helpful to have a sticky post somewhere with the basics for quick reference. That way the team could post exactly what they want known, no more or less. Also, a list of their screen names for these boards would be really helpful. It's not always obvious who is posting based on their signature or avatar. Just a suggestion!