Man Visits Disneyland Every Day for Eight Years, Breaks Record

There are Disney adults, and then there’s Jeff Reitz.

Reitz, 50, broke the Guinness World Record for the most consecutive trips to Disneyland after visiting the iconic California theme park every day for eight years straight.

Reitz’s bizarre crusade to visit “a world where fantastical dreams come true” every day began in 2012 after he celebrated New Year’s Eve alongside some friends.

“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 Guinness World Records.

“We decided to use Disneyland as a positive as we were out of work and had annual passes that had been gifted, so it was a source of free entertainment,” he explained.

Reitz, who made his 60th consecutive visit just as Disneyland’s Leap Day event began, was committed to visiting the park for at least one hour a day.

“Sometimes I would just go and walk around and do photography … It wasn’t always about getting on the attractions depending on what was going on. Why not walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds at Disneyland and the fireworks overhead instead of just walking around a track or on a treadmill inside?” Reitz shared.

Despite his frequent visits to the park, Reitz, a Disney superfan who has documented his journey on social media, rarely received preferential treatment during his quest.

He has, however, become pals with some of our favorite Disney characters.

“I’ve become friends with a number of cast members, but it is a large corporation with a high turnover, especially on the attraction side,” Reitz told SFGate, calling himself a “regular guest that happened to go a little more often.”

When Reitz hit his 366th consecutive visit, Disneyland presented him with a gift basket and an Honorary Citizenship certificate.

“They also offered me dinner for completion of the second year,” he said, adding that when he reached his 2,000th day, he was presented with a backpack.

Unfortunately, on March 14, 2020, just as Reitz was about to reach his 3,000th day at the park, the COVID-19 pandemic halted his record-breaking streak.