The man visited the theme park 2295 days in a row. His achievement was confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records. Among the regulars, he became known for wearing a bucket hat with a Mickey Mouse button attached.
Between January 1, 2012 and March 13, 2020, Jeff Reitz visited Disneyland every day to relax. When Disneyland closed the next day due to the coronavirus pandemic, Reitz was forced to cut his streak off. He believed that his last goodbye at the Anaheim, California theme park would complete his story.
Instead, Reitz’s trips will go down in history. Last week, the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed that Reitz, 50, had the most visits to Disneyland in a row.
“It wasn’t just a record,” Reitz told The Washington Post. “I did it because I had fun and I loved being there. I had no original plans to even do something like that.”
Growing up in Huntington Beach, California, Reitz said he visited Disneyland several times a year and celebrated his graduation there in June 1991.
For his birthday in December 2011, Reitz’s family gave him a yearly pass to Disneyland. About a week later, he and his friends went to a theme park to celebrate the start of 2012.
Reitz, who was unemployed at the time, liked the idea of visiting Disneyland for all 366 days that year. Every day, Reitz said he parked in the parking lot of Mickey and Friends or Pixar Pals and posted on social media to see if his friends were at Disneyland.
Occasionally, Reitz said, he would meet up with a friend, attend special events, spend the day riding a roller coaster, or take a walk at Disney’s California Adventure Park. He memorized music from every part of the park, including his favorite Main Street tunes from The Music Man soundtrack.
Reitz said he often ate pizza and pasta at Alien Pizza Planet or snacked on churros and Mickey-shaped pretzels. Sometimes he took a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat on Tom Sawyer’s Island.
After he went to the park every day for about seven months, people started asking him about setting the record. Reitz said he couldn’t find a single record for visiting an amusement park. Despite everything, he loved his daily routine.
When he started working at Long Beach Veterans Affairs Medical Center in September 2012, he drove about 19 miles to the park every day after work. He said he usually stayed three to five hours in the park and left around the time of the nightly fireworks. On busy days, he would still walk in the park for at least an hour. Reitz said he kept his parking tickets and kept a spreadsheet of his visits.
Between 2013 and 2020, Reitz continued to buy an annual subscription, which he said ranged from $500 to $1,400.
“It was like going to the gym or happy hour after work,” Reitz said. I could have fun with my friends and reset myself before heading home.
Reitz said he made friends with other patrons and dozens of employees. In 2013, Reitz met his girlfriend at Disneyland, where they also went on their first date.
Among the regulars, he became known for wearing a bucket hat with a Mickey Mouse button attached. According to him, in recent years, some people asked him for an autograph and took pictures with him.
The only thing he avoided in the parks was water rides so that his work clothes wouldn’t get wet.
About two weeks ago, Guinness World Records took to Instagram to ask him about his favorite Disneyland memories. On February 21, Guinness World Records recognized Jeff’s efforts and sent him a certificate.
Reitz said he hasn’t returned to Disneyland since 2020 but wants to take pictures with his certificate at various locations in the park.
Focus also wrote that the Briton pleased his wife with a donut-record holder weighing 40 kilograms.
