‘It started as a joke.’ Then man ends up at Disneyland every single day — for 8 years
An annual passholder’s daily visits to Disneyland began as a joke with friends in 2012.
Now, however, Jeff Reitz, of Huntington Beach, holds the world record for the most consecutive visits to the theme park — 2,995 days, according to a Feb. 21 Guinness World Records news release.
By planning around his full-time job, the park’s schedule and his own, the 50-year-old visited the Anaheim theme park for a “total of eight years, three months, and 13 days,” the release said.
“I was actually shocked,” Reitz told The Los Angeles Times. “I wasn’t actively going for a Guinness World Record all eight years. It was just something I was keeping track of.”
His streak began by chance, according to Reitz.
“It started as a joke between friends when Disneyland announced they were giving an ‘Extra Disney Day’ when they announced the Leap Day 24-hour event in 2012,” Reitz said in the release.
The friends used the park as a positive outlet, as well as a way to get some steps in, according to Guinness World Records.
Disneyland celebrity status
Soon enough, as Reitz logged his visits on social media, he became a park celebrity, a status that all began when an Orange County Register reporter caught wind of his 60th consecutive visit, the release said.
The reporter started following his journey and wrote a story when Reitz reached 183 consecutive visits, according to Guinness World Records.
After the Associated Press picked up the story, Reitz told Guinness World Records he was getting requests from around the globe for interviews.
“Then I started having guests in the parks stop me for photos and autographs,” Reitz said.
Typical day in the park
Reitz always began his visits “with a check-in on social media,” Guinness World Records said.
His plan for the rest of his trip depended on whether he was meeting with others or if there were any special events being hosted, the release said.
Reitz said he would walk around the park, snapping photos as he went along, as he was “always watching for images to capture that I could post to share.”
“Some days I would go on lots of attractions and other times I might focus my attention on a single section of the park,” Reitz said.
There was one ride, however, that was a must every visit.
“There is only one ‘ride’ in Disneyland, being Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride,” Reitz said.
Just five days shy of 3,000
Reitz was just five days shy of his goal of 3,000 consecutive visits when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions resulted in the park’s closure in March 2020, Guinness World Records said.
Since then, he’s been waiting for his grand return.
“I have not set a return date yet, but now I think it would be really fun to return with my Guinness World Records title certificate to get pictures where I earned it — inside Disneyland,” Reitz said.
This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 1:24 PM with the headline "‘It started as a joke.’ Then man ends up at Disneyland every single day — for 8 years."
