dpic
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2001
- Messages
- 1,107
Even though my join date states 2001, I first joined in Oct. 1999, our first trip. Somehow, I lost the password to that account, so I just created another with the worse name possible. I still drop by once in a while, and it's amazing how the Dis and the world has changed since then. Twenty years ago today, we left on our first trip to Disney, so I thought I'd stop by and reminisce.
Since I started posting, 9/11 has happened, my children have grown up, I've lost my parents, and I've retired (twice). When I first started coming here, Pete Werner was only a name, but you never knew the person. He'd pop in once in a blue moon, but it was rare. Back then, the servers were SO slow. If you searched for anything, you had time to go for coffee before the results came back. These were the special times of the mug refillers and pool hopper threads--few topics caused more arguments. 999 Ghosts was a poster who worked at Wilderness Lodge and was a great help to many of us trying to find that "perfect room." She eventually got ratted out to Disney and had to have her account deleted. I spent hundreds of hours on the boards when codes were rumored to come out to try get that code early. Back then, a code (normally three letters) could easily save hundreds of dollars, sometimes more (I got a code for $109/night at the Wilderness Lodge, once). IMHO, codes were one of the driving forces to make this site so popular.
After a few years, the podcast started. Pete became a real person (great voice), and then there was a huge desire to see what these people looked like. Hard to believe that they didn't want their photos on the boards back then. When a few photos creeped out, who knew some of them were giants!?
I won three times on the prize-motron, and I have two DIS pins and a coffee cup to prove it (thanks, Julie!) I'm glad they no longer spend times opening gifts on the show--it was like watching someone else's Christmas. Also, I miss hearing Pete telling Max to go get him some chicken at Publix, and the sound of Pete's doggie's nails clicking on the floor.
Sometimes, I read where the show isn't what it used to be. To me, that's a good thing. The boards have improved, and the show has improved. The people make the show, not Disney, and Pete has always hired people who were interesting. I always thought it would interesting to start a thread listing all the people who have come and gone from the podcast. Many of these people become part of your life, and it's hard when they leave the show. It broke my heart when we lost Bob, I felt like he and I were very much alike. Gosh, I loved it when he brought the empty Dolewhips to the show.
So, thanks Pete for creating an amazing place. Thanks to Kevin, John, Julie and Craig for giving the podcast a good start. Then, Kathy and Teresa joined in, and then all the others that followed. It's added a lot to my life, and maybe someday I'll go on a podcast cruise to say, "hi."
Since I started posting, 9/11 has happened, my children have grown up, I've lost my parents, and I've retired (twice). When I first started coming here, Pete Werner was only a name, but you never knew the person. He'd pop in once in a blue moon, but it was rare. Back then, the servers were SO slow. If you searched for anything, you had time to go for coffee before the results came back. These were the special times of the mug refillers and pool hopper threads--few topics caused more arguments. 999 Ghosts was a poster who worked at Wilderness Lodge and was a great help to many of us trying to find that "perfect room." She eventually got ratted out to Disney and had to have her account deleted. I spent hundreds of hours on the boards when codes were rumored to come out to try get that code early. Back then, a code (normally three letters) could easily save hundreds of dollars, sometimes more (I got a code for $109/night at the Wilderness Lodge, once). IMHO, codes were one of the driving forces to make this site so popular.
After a few years, the podcast started. Pete became a real person (great voice), and then there was a huge desire to see what these people looked like. Hard to believe that they didn't want their photos on the boards back then. When a few photos creeped out, who knew some of them were giants!?
I won three times on the prize-motron, and I have two DIS pins and a coffee cup to prove it (thanks, Julie!) I'm glad they no longer spend times opening gifts on the show--it was like watching someone else's Christmas. Also, I miss hearing Pete telling Max to go get him some chicken at Publix, and the sound of Pete's doggie's nails clicking on the floor.Sometimes, I read where the show isn't what it used to be. To me, that's a good thing. The boards have improved, and the show has improved. The people make the show, not Disney, and Pete has always hired people who were interesting. I always thought it would interesting to start a thread listing all the people who have come and gone from the podcast. Many of these people become part of your life, and it's hard when they leave the show. It broke my heart when we lost Bob, I felt like he and I were very much alike. Gosh, I loved it when he brought the empty Dolewhips to the show.
So, thanks Pete for creating an amazing place. Thanks to Kevin, John, Julie and Craig for giving the podcast a good start. Then, Kathy and Teresa joined in, and then all the others that followed. It's added a lot to my life, and maybe someday I'll go on a podcast cruise to say, "hi."
