A man from California has been awarded the Guinness World Record for making the most consecutive visits to Disneyland.
Jeff Reitz, 50, from Huntington Beach, California went to the theme park in Anaheim 2,995 consecutive times between 2012 and 2020.
Reitz said his record-breaking streak started off as “a joke between friends” after he visited the theme park for the first time in 2012 with a free annual pass he had received.
He started making daily visits to the theme park while he was unemployed, as a way to exercise and distract himself from job-hunting. He soon found himself becoming a Disneyland celebrity in his own right.
“I started having guests in the parks stop me for photos and autographs.”
“Some days I would go on lots of attractions and other times I might focus my attention on a single section of the park,” he added.
After finding a job, Reitz had to “keep close tabs on the park calendar along with my own to be sure I could make it into Disneyland before it closed when they had special events,” he told Guinness World Records.
Reitz’s streak finally ended after 2,995 days on March 14, 2020 when Disneyland closed due to COVID-19, leaving him just five days shy of his initial goal of 3,000 consecutive visits. He returned in January for a photoshoot to acknowledge his record and he is planning a visit as Disney celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
Reitz is no longer an annual pass holder but remains a Disneyland fan.
