For close to a decade, Jeff Reitz has made the daily pilgrimage to Disneyland in California. He visited the Happiest Place on Earth an astonishing 2,995 times – and counting! His streak of consecutive visits was so impressive that he secured his spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as having earned the most consecutive visits there. Of course, his efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Disney either; they rewarded him with honorary citizenship due to his estimated $100K invested over multiple trips for both children and adults alike.
After spending a staggering 8 years and 3 months in Disneyland California, Reitz had finally achieved his goal of earning his way into the illustrious Guinness Book of Records. On Tuesday, it was officially announced by Guinness World Record officials- much to their delight! The feat is nothing short of extraordinary for Reitz, who worked tirelessly for almost a decade with unwavering determination.
Drawing inspiration from his military experience, Reitz sought to make the most of his newfound free time by attempting a world record. He wanted to establish himself as an all-time champion at Disneyland – the renowned theme park located outside of Los Angeles in Anaheim – and decided that he would visit it every day for eight years straight! From 2012 until 2020 when Disney closed their original location due to COVID-19, Reitz accomplished this feat with remarkable success.
“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 told the Guinness World Record. After Reitz began to post about his Disney adventures on social media, he started to take his mission of becoming a consecutive visitor more earnestly when he garnered much attention for visiting the theme park sixty days in succession.
The Air Force veteran chose to take on the exhilarating challenge of visiting Disneyland every day, eager to make use of his free time in a way that would bring him joy. Nothing could compare with the delightful experience he felt whenever he visited Anaheim’s beloved theme park.
It wasn’t long before Reitz became a celebrity in his own right. He made many friends during his time at the park and was often asked for autographs by guests who had seen him visit Disneyland multiple times consecutively.
Reitz was determined to capture something fresh from every outing to Disneyland and share it with his followers on Instagram. As a result, he quickly gained recognition in the social media world for providing joyous content that kept people engaged and delighted.
“I would usually take a walk around the park,” Reitz stated. “I enjoy photography, so I was always watching for images to capture that I could post to share.”
To keep his explorations of the park stimulating and riveting for himself as well as his Instagram followers, Reitz made a point to switch up his daily activities.
“Some days, I would go to lots of attractions, and other times I might focus my attention on a single section of the park.”
Of all the attractions in Reitz, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is undoubtedly the one that enchanted him most!
