This Man Set An All-Time World Record for Visiting Disneyland
Updated: Jan. 12, 2024
Think you're a big Disney fan? This man visited Disneyland nearly 3,000 times.
There’s nothing like the magic of Disneyland. After all, it’s called “The Happiest Place on Earth,” for a reason. And one California man can certainly attest to that after visiting the theme park a record-breaking 2,995 times.
Nope, that’s not a typo.
For almost a decade, Jeff Reitz consistently took daily trips to the beloved theme park. Finally, after years of dedication, Reitz shattered a Guinness World record. We’re pretty sure this officially makes him an official Disney insider now, too. Here’s how his record-breaking achievement unfolded.
Why did Reitz decide to break the world record?
So how does one decide to devote almost 3,000 days and countless hours to breaking a world record? According to Reitz, it didn’t start off as a serious crusade.
“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,” he says, in regard to a Feb. 29 leap year event.
Since Reitz and his friends were out of work at the time, they decided to keep the fun going. Disneyland could be used 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 explains.
Perks like positivity, exercise with miles of steps walked each day and networking—since you never knew who you might meet—he adds, were all part of the Disneyland excitement. Eventually, after clocking in at a year of 366 visits—due to an extra day from the 2012 leap year—Reitz decided to keep the visits up.
How did Reitz break the record?
With the help of annual passes, Reitz was able to make daily trips, that, according to Reitz, “was only about $3.50 a day.” Although his consecutive visits had to stop five days before hitting 3,000 visits during the trek due to the early days of COVID-19, Reitz still broke the record.
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Following the nearly 3,000 days Reitz visited the park, he was contacted by Guinness about setting the world record. “I have done it!” Reitz wrote in all capital letters in an Instagram post announcing the record.
Has Reitz gone back to Disneyland?
Since breaking the record, Reitz has not been back to Disneyland. At least, not yet anyway.
As for the magic of Disneyland, Reitz says, “it’s always been the cast members that make the magic, not the place itself.” When he does return to the park, however, he has no doubt that it will be “a chance for me to have an eye-opening experience.”
“I have not set a return date yet,” he elaborates, “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.”
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