10 Questions with Doc on his Disney Obsession

1. How many times have you been to Disney World? “I have to Disney World at least once a year since 1978, and in the 90s and 2000s I’d say, at the least, 40 times a year. Some years, I got in the 70s. My wife and I have been annual

   

   pass holders since 1990.”

2. Any interest in Disney Land, why? “No, I’ve been to Disneyland and my wife and I went to school out there to get our PhD’s and we had to spend three summers out there. With the population that’s around Disneyland and L. A. immediate area it’s just not the same. Disney World is spread out where you don’t see Orlando and such, and you feel like it’s its own entity; and that’s what we like about it. We only went to Disney Land 3 times in the summers we were there. We liked it, because they have some historic rides there, like the Matterhorn and things like that. It’s just not the same.”
3. When did you start getting obsessed with Disney World? “In 1978. I went to school at Central Methodist University and they take two weeks off in the winter to send you some place around the world to take a class, and I went to Boca Rotan. I went to take my class with about 100 other people on campus. One day we were sitting there and I just said, ‘Let’s go to Disney World.’ and they just said how we didn’t have a car, so my mom called down and got us a car. We jumped in it, got on the B-line, which is the Florida Turnpike, and ended up at Disney World. At that time it was only Magic Kingdom, that was it, and you had tickets that you had to use for each ride, like the old carnival rides that you ride, you couldn’t just walk in the gate and ride. We spent the whole day there and the first thing, when I walked in the main gate, I saw Mickey Mouse, and after that, that was it. I mean, there was 18 to 20 year old guys and we were all like little kids. It was incredible, I mean, it was just like we’d went to six years in a blink.”
4. What are some of the memories you have of your visits? “The nice thing that I do with my wife is we use the Disney Photography every year, so we make a memory book every year that we go. Then, watching my daughter grow up because she has been way too many times, her first time there was at five or four, she’s been every year and she’ll be 22. Just watching her as she grows up, and she took her friends and stuff with us, and watching the fun that they had , and that we can provide that for her, and let her have fun with her friends and stuff, means a lot to my wife and I.”
5. What was your most recent visit like? “It was last week, last Saturday, during spring break. My wife and I can go on Disney grounds, and go into a park, and every time we find something that makes us say, ‘Wow, we never noticed that before.’ This time we went down and looked at the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs roller coaster that’s opening up in about three months, just to kind of check it out because they’ve been building it for about two years. There’s a whole new FantasyLand with Belle and the Beast. Gaston now is a character, and he was out in the crowds, I’ve never seen him before. That was pretty neat, so that was our new experience.”
6. What does your family think of your Disney obsession? “I’ve taken my mom and my grandparents a couple of times, and my in-laws have been there with us, my brother-in-law was there with us once. They just don’t see the fascination that we have with it. They have fun, but they just don’t understand why we go. The thing of it is, my wife and I like to people watch, and you sit down at Disney and you see everybody having fun, and they’re happy that they’re there, sharing family experiences that they probably never do at home. That’s where it holds a special place for my wife and I. We’ve never gotten bored, yet.”
7. Do you have any favorite memorabilia, why is it your favorite? “My wife is a pen collector beyond the max, and my daughter collects spoons from Disney and such, so that’s their major collections. Mine, I don’t really get that much there because I just like being there. I’m not one to go in buying souvenirs and stuff. There’s a place Haines City, that’s an old orange orchard that took the place where they used to store the oranges, and anything that Disney’s getting rid of, they sell there. So, they have a piece of Monorail for $1.5 million all the way down to a hairdryer out of a hotel room that they’re selling for $.50. We go there all the time and get stuff for our house that would be expensive, like a big dressing mirror that would normally go for $150 that they sell for $5. We go there all the time, not many people know about it, we tell a lot of people about it. It’s called the Disney Store, that’s it. So we go there quite a bit and see what they have different and stuff, they have lots of old movies and stuff that they sell, all types of memorabilia. One thing I wanted to do before I left [Missouri] and didn’t get done, in Marceline, Missouri they have a Disney auction every year, where they auction off Disney prized memorabilia that’s outrageous. I’d like to go to that someday, but the one that’s in Florida, it’s in the middle of nowhere. You drive up, and there’s a Mickey hand pointing, and that’s it. You walk in and you name it, they’ve got it. Anything they take out of a hotel due to a remodel, they sell in bulk, and it’s really cool.”
8. What are your plans for retiring to Disney World? “When I get down to Florida I’m going to take some time off, my intention is around September or October to go to Disney, and I have applied for various things, but right now those types of jobs don’t interest me. So, I’m going to go down and keep them updated that I’m there, and then kind of pick and choose a job that I might be interested in. Once you take a job at Disney you have to stick with it for six months before you move to something else, and then after that they pretty much let you move as you want. My goal is to only work three days a week, and the rest of the time be retired and go to Disney.”
9. What are your feelings on finally being able to live near Disney World? “My wife and I have planned on this for over twenty years, so we have positioned ourselves financially, mentally, and physically for this move to happen. I can remember leaving Disney for the past five years and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, only four more years and I live here.” So, this has been a plan, and a work in process. Where we’re living they actually have a Disney- Free club, that they go to Disney all the time and visit, and we’re going to join that. They take trips there all the time and eat on grounds, or go to do a ride, or just walk around. So, I’ll be involved in that.”
10. Who is your favorite Disney Character, why? “My daughter’s favorite is Tinkerbell, my wife’s favorite is Eeyore. Now, you’ve got to remember, everything that’s a part of Disney is a possibility in this of being a Disney character. I go to The Muppets, and Gonzo because he is the coolest guy. I will go to the 3-D Muppet inventor at Disney Studios just to watch Gonzo because I crack up at everything he does. His jokes are kind of like mine, dry humor. You laugh and you’re kind of like, ‘ Oh really, that’s kind of odd,” but you still laugh and that’s why Gonzo has always been my favorite.”