DIS oldtimers (well newtimers too) where are you?

[Perdita&Pongo]

Hello to all, especially my neighbor Dan!

 

[Dan Murphy]

I’ll pop in for a quick hello from my Deluxe Studio at the BCV!!

Sounds like a great place to be, Steve. Is this one of the big family trips?

Hello to all, especially my neighbor Dan!

And, Nancy! Nice to see you here. And we are still neighbors. That's great. Still collecting those neat pins?

@KristaTX, you got a little reunion going here.

 

[The Mayor]

Sounds like a great place to be, Steve. Is this one of the big

It is Dan. All 10 of us here!

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

And, Nancy! Nice to see you here. And we are still neighbors. That's great. Still collecting those neat pins?

Nice to see U 2, Dan!

We stopped collecting Disney pins way back when, probably more than 10 years ago at least. We have such great memories of all the local pin meets back in the day.

But we are still collecting Disney trips - #35 on the horizon!

 

[Dan Murphy]

It is Dan. All 10 of us here!

Sounds great, Steve. Family is the best. Enjoy your time!

Nice to see U 2, Dan!

We stopped collecting Disney pins way back when, probably more than 10 years ago at least. We have such great memories of all the local pin meets back in the day.

But we are still collecting Disney trips - #35 on the horizon!

I sure do miss the many Chicago meets back 'in the day' also. So much fun, meeting everyone, just enjoying each other's company.

Keep collecting those trips. I'm stuck somewhere in the 30's also, but have not been for 8 years now.

 

[KristaTX]

Krista! Great to see you, it's been so long. Thanks for the bump. You and mom doing well?

Corinne, nice to see some more oldtimers, thanks to Krista's bump. How is your granddaughter doing, getting big?

And minnie56, always nice seeing you pop in.

A mini reunion. Who else is out there and needs to say hello to the old DIS folks?

Hey there, Dan! It has been a long time. I’ve been in a reminiscing frame of mind and came searching for this thread.

Mom (and Dad!) and I are well! Todd and I are still in Fort Worth, with my parents and Todd’s mom each about 30 minutes from us.

I’m not sure if it was ever mentioned on here that one of our closest DIS travel friends passed away last year, and many of you knew her or knew of her.

Karen Young aka TLinden16 aka JellyrollsKaren passed away least year after a battle with cancer that was diagnosed early in the pandemic. I miss her so much.

I went to Boston for her memorial service along with John/Towncrier and his family, Diane/Goofy4Tink(?) and her daughter, and Boston Katie and her husband. Her family, some of whom we’d all met, were pleasantly surprised and moved that we traveled to attend her service.

They had all of her photo albums, scrapbooks, and pins out on display, and she was buried with a Goofy plush and in a Disney shirt. I can’t see Goofy and not think of Karen as she loved that character so much.

Also I am sad to report that Ray Sharpton passed away in the last year, and I’m not sure that was mentioned in here. I think many of us knew Ray as one of the sweetest guys around.

It’s been so long that I cannot remember everyone’s user names anymore off the top of my head.

I don’t get to the parks frequently anymore. It just changed so much post-pandemic (and even before that), and without John/Towncrier and his family living part-time down there I just don’t have as much reason to go. And I miss it.

I miss the era of our great December meets in the 2000s. Those were some of the best times of my life. I am grieving the actual loss of friends and also Disney parks being such a major part of my identity, really.

 

[Towncrier]

So much has changed. So many great friends have passed away. We still make the occasional trip to WDW, now with grandkids. My daughter Sarah "retired" from Disney and now works seasonally at Run Disney events. My leukemia is in remission. Sue and I downsized to a ranch home near our son's family in Medina. We sold our Florida retirement home several years ago after plans to retire there changed. Life is good.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hey there, Dan! It has been a long time. I’ve been in a reminiscing frame of mind and came searching for this thread.

Mom (and Dad!) and I are well! Todd and I are still in Fort Worth, with my parents and Todd’s mom each about 30 minutes from us.

I’m not sure if it was ever mentioned on here that one of our closest DIS travel friends passed away last year, and many of you knew her or knew of her.

Karen Young aka TLinden16 aka JellyrollsKaren passed away least year after a battle with cancer that was diagnosed early in the pandemic. I miss her so much.

I went to Boston for her memorial service along with John/Towncrier and his family, Diane/Goofy4Tink(?) and her daughter, and Boston Katie and her husband. Her family, some of whom we’d all met, were pleasantly surprised and moved that we traveled to attend her service.

They had all of her photo albums, scrapbooks, and pins out on display, and she was buried with a Goofy plush and in a Disney shirt. I can’t see Goofy and not think of Karen as she loved that character so much.

Also I am sad to report that Ray Sharpton passed away in the last year, and I’m not sure that was mentioned in here. I think many of us knew Ray as one of the sweetest guys around.

It’s been so long that I cannot remember everyone’s user names anymore off the top of my head.

I don’t get to the parks frequently anymore. It just changed so much post-pandemic (and even before that), and without John/Towncrier and his family living part-time down there I just don’t have as much reason to go. And I miss it.

I miss the era of our great December meets in the 2000s. Those were some of the best times of my life. I am grieving the actual loss of friends and also Disney parks being such a major part of my identity, really.

This is always a great thread to reminisce with, Krista. Good to hear that you, Todd, mom and dad are all doing well. And living nearby, that's great!

I had sadly learned of Karen's passing last year. Mary Jo let me know last summer, so sad. I can recall many long evenings at Jellyrolls with Karen and others, and those great dueling pianos. So many fun times remembered. I do remember Goofy and her. I've missed Diane on the Transportation board here, have not seen her in ages. If I recall correctly, I think she was dealing with illness also, certainly a reason to back off from here. So many fun times come to mind at WDW with Diane and her daughter. Very nice you guys, with John also, were able to attend Karen's services.

I knew of Ray's passing also. And yes, Ray was spoken of highly here, both before and after his passing. I spent many fun December trips there at WDW with John. I most often stayed at the Swan, Ray quite often stayed at the Dolphin. I recall a number of years when he was in a Dolphin room, facing east towards the Boardwalk. He always decorated his balcony and left it lit late into the night. It was always nice, walking back from Epcot, MGM or the Boardwalk, and see Ray's beacons of light up about 5 or 6 floors. And he always decorated his scooters with Christmas lights and a Mickey wreath. When I started to use a scooter there for some of my later trips, Ray always gave me 'scooter pointers' to make life easier. Always a happy, smiling guy, one of a kind.

I have not been there since 2017, with Natalie and her two boys. 8 years is a long time when I was use to going twice a year. I do miss it but feel like I probably won't get back. It's a physical ordeal to go there.

I hear you, Krista, about missing the place. And yes, those December trips were so darn much fun, with so many people from here. Times with you and mom, John (TC) and his family, and others. Good people! Seemed like nonstop laughs and fun for a week or more.

I'm glad that this thread has survived and every so often, somebody like you pops in and gets it going again, for a few days. Others get notified and, 'hey, somebody has posted on the oldtimers thread. Have to go see what's going on.' Always nice seeing folks here. Thanks, Krista, for getting this going again for a bit. Say hello to mom for me.

So much has changed. So many great friends have passed away. We still make the occasional trip to WDW, now with grandkids. My daughter Sarah "retired" from Disney and now works seasonally at Run Disney events. My leukemia is in remission. Sue and I downsized to a ranch home near our son's family in Medina. We sold our Florida retirement home several years ago after plans to retire there changed. Life is good.

And, John!! Great to see you. And so right, so many changes. Many good people, here and elsewhere, have passed on. Nice that Sarah still has a connection there with Disney. Glad to hear your health has improved and in remission. A ranch style home, like you and Sue now have, sure sounds great at this point in life. So far, Marie and I can still traverse the stairs. Does James still think we are weird?

Overall, as you say, life is good, John.

Nice to see everyone over the past week.