A Letter from the new Editor-in-Chief of Inside the Magic

in Inside the Magic

Dear Inside the Magic readers,

My name is Mike Celestino. If you’re a regular visitor to this website, chances are you’ve seen my steady stream of movie reviews, news updates, celebrity interview articles, and more than 1500 additional posts (plus countless supplemental videos) over the past three years. As a resident of Southern California, Disneyland Resort has become my home away from home, and I visit on average about once a week to bring you the type of enthusiastic coverage you’ve come to expect from our dedicated enterprise.

Like many of you, I was first exposed to Inside the Magic via Ricky Brigante’s now-legendary podcast, which ran for a decade and helped foster a still-expanding community of theme park fans who eat, sleep, and breathe Disney, Universal, and various other cherished parks. But back then I wanted to be more than a fan: I wanted to do what Ricky did. I would listen to that podcast and think, “I wish I could go to theme parks for a living.” And now I do.

Having contributed to and grown with Inside the Magic since April of 2015 (first as a freelancer and then full-time starting that October), I am beyond pleased to announce that as of today I am stepping up to assume the role of Editor-in-Chief of ITM’s website, YouTube channel, and social media feeds. What that means is I will be partnering with our new owner Kurt Schmidt to help make creative and strategic decisions, guide our talented staff, and oversee the day-to-day output of the business.

The first step in that process will be to reorient and refocus the aim of Inside the Magic’s coverage, concentrating our content on the topics we know our audience loves as much as we do. Moving forward through the coming months our emphasis will be on quality over quantity, eliminating some of the more extraneous information to ensure only the truly meaningful stuff gets through, and that when it does it has the chance to really shine.

The next few years are going to amount to one of the most exciting times in the history of theme parks. I say that because of how excited I am for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Super Nintendo World, the Marvel expansions, and all the rest of the big things headed our way very soon. But I also say that knowing how much this community means to me and how much my appreciation of these parks has grown since I entered into this field and began to learn more about the sheer amount of effort and skill that goes into those kinds of projects.

In the end, our goal here at Inside the Magic is to put as much thought and care into our coverage as theme park designers do into their work. We want to be the conduit between you and the minds behind your favorite destinations. We want to help you decide how best to spend your hard-earned money and vacation time. And most of all we want to be on the front lines for every change, addition to, and fond farewell from the happiest places on Earth.

Thank you and see you around the parks,

Mike Celestino
Editor-in-Chief
Inside the Magic

in Inside the Magic

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