(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Washington Post
As Jeff Reitz approached Disneyland's exit for the 2,995th consecutive day, he slowed his walk to allow others to pass.
'Well guys, this is it,' he told his Instagram followers on a video feed.
Reitz savored his final moments viewing the Mickey Mouse floral display at the entrance. When Reitz was the last guest to leave the park, a group of cheering spectators greeted him. He then turned to watch security guards lock the gates.
Between Jan. 1, 2012, and March 13, 2020, Reitz said he visited Disneyland every day to decompress. When Disneyland closed the next day because of the coronavirus pandemic, Reitz was forced to end his streak. He figured his final farewell at the Anaheim, Calif., theme park would cap his saga.
Instead, Reitz's trips will be cemented in history. Last week, Guinness World Records certified that Reitz, 50, had made the most consecutive Disneyland visits.
'It wasn't just a matter of going for a record,' Reitz told The Washington Post. 'I was doing it because I was having fun, and I enjoyed being there. I had no original plans to even do something like this.'
Reitz says he never intended to go for the record: 'I was doing it because I was having fun.' Jeff Reitz/Handout
Growing up in Huntington Beach, Calif., Reitz said he visited Disneyland a few times each year and celebrated there after his high school graduation in June 1991. He loved riding the Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster and taking pictures with Goofy, who Reitz said shares his adventurous and friendly personality.
For his birthday in December 2011, Reitz said his family gifted him an annual Disneyland pass. He and his friends traveled to the theme park about a week later to celebrate the start of 2012. It was a leap year, so Reitz said they joked about taking advantage of the extra day their annual passes granted them.
Reitz, who was unemployed at the time, liked the idea of visiting Disneyland all 366 days that year. Every day, Reitz said he parked at the Mickey and Friends or Pixar Pals lot and posted on social media to see if his friends were at Disneyland.
'Once I was inside the park,' Reitz said, 'anything was up in the air.'
Some days, Reitz said he met a friend, attended a special event, spent an afternoon riding roller coasters or strolled to Disney California Adventure Park. He memorized the music from each section of the park, including his favorite tunes on Main Street from the 'Music Man' soundtrack.
Reitz said he often devoured pizza and pasta at Alien Pizza Planet or snacked on a churro or Mickey-shaped pretzel. Some days, he packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat at Tom Sawyer Island.
After going to the park every day for about seven months, people began asking him about setting a record. Reitz said he couldn't find one for amusement park visits. Regardless, he loved his routine.
When he began working at a Long Beach, Calif., Veterans Affairs Medical Center in September 2012, Reitz said he drove about 19 miles to the park every day after work.
He said he usually stayed three to five hours and left around the time of the nightly fireworks show. On busy days, he still walked across the park for at least an hour. Reitz said he saved his parking tickets and maintained a spreadsheet of his visits.
Between 2013 and 2020, Reitz kept buying an annual pass, which he said ranged from $500 to $1,400.
'It was kind of like going to the gym or going to happy hour after work,' Reitz said. 'I could have fun with friends and reset, recharge myself before going home.'
Reitz said he built friendships with fellow visitors and dozens of employees. In 2013, Reitz met his girlfriend at Disneyland, where they also went on their first date.
Reitz says he usually stayed between three to five hours on each visit and left around the time of the nightly fireworks show. Jeff Reitz/Handout
He became known to regulars for wearing a bucket hat with a Mickey Mouse button attached. In recent years, he said some people asked for his autograph and posed for photos with him.
The only things he avoided in the parks were the water rides, so his work clothes wouldn't get soaked.
Reitz said he collected more than 2,500 Disney pins and traded them with people at the parks and resorts. He continued to post on Instagram every day when he entered the park under the handle 'disney366_,' a nod to the number of days he visited Disneyland in 2012.
Reitz said he aimed to visit for at least 3,000 straight days, but when Disney announced in March 2020 that it would close because of the pandemic, he felt somber. He stayed at the park until the final moments of March 13, the last day it was open.
'Thank you to everyone who stopped and said hello, took photos and shared memories with me,' Reitz said on Instagram. 'And thank you to all the cast members and characters who only helped to add to the magic. It's a bittersweet end.'
Without Disneyland, Reitz needed time to adjust. On March 14, he went to the park and stood outside the gates. As the pandemic dragged on, he said he watched movies and 'The Mandalorian' on Disney Plus. Disneyland remained closed for 13 months.
Reitz said he missed the community he'd found, but he soon developed new hobbies - hiking, scuba diving and traveling outside of Southern California. He said he's still in contact with employees and guests he met at Disneyland.
About two weeks ago, Reitz said he was shocked when Guinness World Records messaged him on Instagram to ask about his favorite Disneyland memories.
On Feb. 21, Guinness World Records solidified Reitz's efforts in its record book and mailed Reitz a certificate. A Guinness World Records spokeswoman said a consultant verified the record last year.
Reitz said he hasn't returned to Disneyland since 2020, but he wants to pose for photos with his certificate at different spots across the park. Plus, there's one attraction he still hasn't experienced: 21 Royal, an expensive private dinner party in a New Orleans-style home.
'That would be neat to have the opportunity to do,' Reitz said.