For as long as I can remember, I was fascinated with Walt Disney. I had a book about the art history of Disney (1975) and I read biographies about Walt Disney.
I wanted to be an artist or cartoonist. The closest I got was being the cartoonist for our high school newspaper and drawing posters and book covers for the yearbook.
The first time I saw Mickey Mouse in person was at Brookdale Mall for a show in the atrium.
Our family first visited Disney World with my aunt Marion Lewis in 1977?
I went to the magic shop on main street. We could not find Mickey Mouse anywhere in the park.
In college 1988 I visited Disney World with my cousin John Lewis on my first big trip as an adult without the family. There we got inspiration to build our magic and juggling act “The Hardly Brothers”. One routine was heavily influenced by a street show we saw in Epcot. When I saw the 360 vision show in the Canada pavilion at Epcot I decided I wanted to make presentations that would move people to laugh and cry. We visited with our friend Shelly Duncan. Her father was a photographer for Disney and so she knew her way around the parks.
In December 1991 I visited Disney World with my wife Christelle at the time. We got a smoky rental car to save money and stayed offsite at the Caribe Royale Orlando.
In December 1999 I visited Disney World with friends Greg Broder, Kathy Smeby, and Rajani Murthy. We stayed one day in a hotel in Kissimmee with cockroaches and then transferred to a room at the Swan hotel with Greg’s military discount.
Brenda and I visited Disney World on our honeymoon in 2002. We didn’t have much money so we stayed at the Grosvenor Hotel near Downtown Disney. It was a dump. On New Years Eve we were at Hollywood Studios park and there was a torrential downpour of rain so they cancelled the fireworks. Brenda and I met our friends Sarah and Tommy Ramirez by chance and we did Rock’n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror several times in a row with zero waiting in line as everyone had left the park.
Brenda got pneumonia and so we couldn’t go into the parks the next day. 🙁 We transferred to the Disney Swan Hotel for one night as my dream was to watch the fireworks from the hot tub. That didn’t work since Brenda was sick. I remember seeing the Beach Club and Yacht Club and wondering who could be part of that club that would get to stay there.
In January 2006 we stayed at a Blue Green Timeshare with Scott and Suzanne Chinnock and visited Disney World. Brenda was pregnant with Brielle so she didn’t go on any big rides.
We started our tech company in 2010 and it allowed me to work from home while we home schooled our daughters. It was during the recession and Disney World offered several specials of 30-40% off hotel stays and we had total freedom of schedule. We were able to book a trip at our dream Beach Club deluxe resort and we were hooked. We ended up making trips at least an annual vacation often for 1-2 weeks at a time with the kids. Brenda’s parents came along for several vacations.
- 2010-02 Beach Club
- 2011-11 Yacht Club – Dan, Ardelle, Shea
- 2012-11 Port Orleans Riverside, Gaylord Palms – Dan, Ardelle
- 2014-12 Port Orleans Riverside
- 2015-03 Caribe Royale Hotel
- 2018-12 Beach Club
- 2019-03 Disneyland Hotel California – Dan, Ardelle
- 2020? Art of Animation – Tim & Arianna daddy-daughter trip
- 2021-12 Caribbean Beach, Beach Club – Anniversary celebration
- 2022 and beyond…stay at Lelani Beach Club and one night stay-cations. Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Art of Animation, etc.
We also went on several Disney Cruises to the Caribbean.
- 2016-01 Disney Wonder Cruise Puerto Rico, Caribbean
- 2017-02 Disney Fantasy Star Wars Cruise Caribbean
- 2018-01 Disney Dream Cruise Bahamas
- 2019-03 Disney Wonder Cruise Los Angeles and Mexico – Dan, Ardelle
- 2021-12 Disney Dream Bahamas, Castaway Cay
Behind the scenes tour and saw the utilidors under the Magic Kingdom.
I knew a director of creative entertainment at Disney that was able to arrange a private meet and greet with the cast of Beauty and the Beast at Hollywood Studios. Meeting the princesses was always an amazing event. The girls loved meals at Ascherhaus, Cinderella’s Castle, and Park Faire.
In 2022 we purchased a vacation home 25 minutes from Disney World and themed it after the deluxe Disney resorts. We’ve taken several trips there now staying at our home when it is not rented out.
In June of 2023 our daughter Arianna began working for Disney in the Disney College Program (DCP).
Now we live 20 minutes from Disney and we are annual pass holders…spending time at the parks for fun and exercise. It’s much more relaxing to visit knowing that we will be back. We don’t have to cram everything into one day.
The saga continues…