The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness

I’ve started this post at least a dozen times this year alone, and every time I delete it and tell myself things will get better, I will feel better, and I will find the space to think, dream, research, and write. The truth is, and this is clearly well overdue, this chapter that has been the Main Street Gazette for the past fifteen years has come to a close.

 

My constant companion of Rheumatoid Arthritis has left me little in the way of spare time beyond what energies I need for my traditional job and daily maintenance around my house. I do not wish this pain and crippling exhaustion that has sat by my side for the last eight years on anyone, but I do wish I could express it in words you would all understand. That said, I want this to be a day of celebration and looking forward.

 

I want to reorganize what is still here on the Gazette, delete obsolete and murky items, plus what I can, and give it a forever home so that you can find it when you’re looking for something years from now. For many of its fifteen years, there were posts here daily. Mostly these writings were from myself, but occasionally from a dear friend, or group of friends. Even when I was on trips, and before the advent of things like Instagram, I would send back horrible, horrible cell phone photos, just to slip a little something special into your day.

 

I still have stories I want to tell, histories I want to uncover or rediscover and share with you, opinions that I think have a space in the world of Disney travel, and photos that aren’t stellar, but are better than average, that I want to put out there to remind you all of the beauty of created and cultivated spaces. I don’t know what form that will take. My form of expression is writing and that isn’t the most popular form of quick entertainment for many folks these days, so who knows where I go next. Maybe guest writing somewhere else, maybe longer items on a social media outlet, a book is never out of the question, perhaps returning to some magazine writing or a podcast here or there, or something I haven’t considered yet. I’m smart enough to know what a wonderful avenue is when it is presented to me.

 

The Main Street Gazette has created so many opportunities and brought so many wonderful people into my life. Some have come and gone, some are at great distance but I feel I could pick up where we left off with just a phone call, and some are still as close to me as family. I cherish every memory and moment it the past fifteen years of magic have given me. That includes you. You may have never reached out, never connected with me, but you were there, and for that I can only thank you. Each of you has meant the world to me, and I can truly say I am a better person because I have had you in my life. I was a shy, reclusive young man who thought he had enough knowledge and insights that he could help people have better trips, that he could provide some understanding of what had come before. Now, I know I will never know everything, never be able to help everyone, but strong enough to be there for those who need me, when they need me, and provide a glimpse of insight. You gave me that strength, you helped shape me. Thank you.

 

I hope you have found a friend, a bit of knowledge you didn’t have, something that made you chuckle, or a dish you wanted to try because of the time you spent here. I hope I was able to give you something for your investment of time in perusing through my blathering. This has indeed been a wild ride, one that we have undertaken together, and I cannot wait to see what you do next, and what is next for me.

The Wildest Ride in the Wilderness

When I started the Main Street Gazette almost 14 years ago, I was young and had opinions I wanted to express. About attraction ideas, how good the food was, or wasn’t, and about what I thought would make Walt Disney World better. I had a fair share of knowledge of the parks and resorts, thanks to a never-ending thirst to know more, and I wanted to share that knowledge. I wanted to give people a better trip, and maybe a special kernel or two of knowledge that could impress their family and friends. The Gazette was a balancing point between wanting to shine as an expert, otherwise called a know-it-all, and an intrinsic need to be helpful.

 

As the years have gone by, I’ve tried new ways to engage, new topical areas to discuss, even throwing in some short fiction (which I’d love to do again), and I have learned so much. I have been taught that having a brash opinion isn’t as valuable as taking time to understand an issue, give Imagineers grace and space to create before judging, and that I have absolutely no idea what Walt Disney would think or want in the parks today, and neither does anyone else. I have learned to put others first where I can, that elevating the voices and issues that can change the lives of people not like me is important, and that what is right is not always popular.

 

I have also gained so much from all of you. Your love and devotion to the Gazette propelled me to two wonderful stints on a pair of podcasts. With Lou Mongello on the WDW Radio Show, I got to spend time with someone who is as close to me as a brother, someone who’s love of theme park history and zeal for life rivals my own. Then, with Pete, Melyssa, Courtney, Brian, Adam, and whomever else we could drag along, on the Disney Movie Hour, I found more family, that delved deep into the history and production of the films that are foundational to many of our lives. Then there are the friendships that are too numerous to list here, but for someone who finds it difficult to make friends, you have all brought me some of the most joyous memories, and relationships that I am hopeful will last a lifetime.

 

I began to push harder on the Gazette, creating a schedule that would provide content each and every day of the week, I ventured out (poorly) into social media with Twitter and Instagram, and I tried to find ways to engage each of you as best I could. In some respects, I succeeded, in many I did not, and that’s okay because I learned something new at every step or stumble along the way.

 

Then, almost 7 years ago, I began having excruciating pain in my shoulders, knees, elbows, and ankles. That scary, not knowing, road led me to a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis. The uncertainty of when and where the next violent flare will come, the constant fatigue and pain, made my time with the Gazette haphazard at best. It has made sitting in a chair for any length of time to record for a podcast unbearable. No matter how much I wanted to continue to do all of these things, my body shut me down. Yet, through it all you stuck with me. The Gazette went on hiatus for long stretches of time, including during most of 2020 with the pandemic and at times when there were more important voices that needed to be heard around the state of race in our country. Yet, through it all, you wished me health and stuck with me.

 

By this point in the history of the Gazette, you probably think this is goodbye. That I’m hanging up my lightsaber, spurs, and pith helmets, putting the history books back on the shelves, and walking slowly into the sunset. But that’s not exactly where I’m headed. I write for a living, writing grants and reports to foundations to support critical services in my community, and writing takes a toll on my joints. Writing used to be where I found solace, and while that is still the case, the amount of time I can do writing becomes more limited each year. That means I have to choose between supporting my family or supporting a passion that I’ve never quite figured out how to make a living by. The Main Street Gazette isn’t going away, but I also can’t commit to a schedule any longer either.

 

Daily photos, or blurbs that I can put in a couple of tweets or a single photo caption, are going to continue and are likely the main avenue going forward. Meanwhile, the main page of the Gazette, the longer articles, critical thought pieces, historical anecdotes, digging at little details, and a recipe or review here or there, will still be here. I just don’t want to promise you all a when any longer only to let you, and myself, down. They’ll be sporadic, but I hope they’ll be worth it when you come back here and read them. If you happen to be feeling like a walk down memory lane, the old articles are staying put too. And I hope you’ll join in with me over on Instagram or Twitter, perhaps we can have even deeper conversations than we’ve ever had here before.

 

I love you all, and I thank you all for everything you have given me over than past 14 years. I hope we can keep this mutual joy of all things going for many, many years to come, in whatever form it may take.

The Place was Built With a Magical Plan

I should admit that this year the Gazette’s anniversary snuck up on me. The result, I suspect, of life getting in the way of plans, of which I actually had some of this year, and time speeding up on me the older I get. So, I decided to take a stroll down memory lane to see where we’ve been and everything that the Gazette has given to me, in order to provide me with a little insight.

From our earliest days, we have been about providing information that enrichens the Walt Disney World experience. The reviews of attractions, shows, tours, meals, restaurants, or how the parks are put together have been meant to help you plan and have the most fun you can have in the parks and resorts. The little details that further a story, give us a sense of time and place, or are just fun nods have always been explored in order to provide you with ways to enhance your trips or be a show off for friends and family. Photo safaris have always been a way to showcase something you should be taking note of, but doesn’t necessarily need a long-winded, wordy explanation from me. The historical elements are for those who, like myself, want to know as much as they can even if they cannot experience what once was around the Vacation Kingdom.

If you’ve caught on to a theme here, it is that the Main Street Gazette has always been here for, and because of, you. You are the reason I wake up and scouring through books or photographs, looking for that one story that will resonate, that will mean something to at least one of you out there.

The Gazette has been home to other writers over the years, and I loved getting their perspective on how they view Walt Disney World. Not because it lessened my burden, believe me it did not, but because I hoped it would be helpful to someone who didn’t always see things the way I do and, perhaps, another writer shared their perspective.

Of course, we’ve had our bumps over the years. If I’m being honest, some of the fictitious short, short stories I wrote in those early years were in the hopes that someone at Disney would take notice and ask me to pick up a pen for their blog, children’s books, publications, or some other endeavor. As much as I loved those stories, they were there for me and quickly fell by the wayside because I had lost track of what really mattered to me and what was at the heart of the Gazette’s mission: you all and your experiences.

I cannot imagine where I would be personally without all of you. The Gazette’s never been the place where everyone comes to gather, comment, and discuss, but it has brought me so many friends that I am so incredibly thankful for. You have sent me emails and messages letting me know what matters to you and thanking me for all that I do, but it really truly should be me thanking you. Sometimes I get on a soapbox, with and without reason, sometimes I’m away dealing with illness, and sometimes I get lost in the weeds of blather around a microscopic blip in Disney history, but you always come back and are always encouraging. Without each of you, there is no Main Street Gazette. So, with all sincerity, thank you for coming back again and again, and never stop letting me know how I can create a better experience for you!

Hang on to Them Hats and Glasses - Part II

I’ve put off this article longer than any other I’ve ever written, mostly because I have no idea what to say. Today, the Main Street Gazette turns 10 years old.

I am overwhelmed by the amount of support I’ve received over the years. I have been blessed by the number of friends, many as close as family, I have found through our first decade. I have learned so much from so many, and I am thankful for even more of you out there. Family and friends that have been there though some of my favorite memories and through some of the hardest times I’ve seen.

Some of you might have heard this story before, but I started the Gazette as a way to share everything I had learned about Walt Disney World from the love my family had of the resort. It was also at the directive of my wife (then fiancé) who told me if I didn’t find a place for all of this knowledge, other than randomly performing monologues for her alone, she was going to cause me some sort of creative physical harm. To her credit, I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did, considering we would be married only a couple of months later and we were both deep in the implementation of our wedding plans.

I thought I had a lot to say about Walt Disney World, but once I had my platform I found I had less to share than I thought, but I still had a passion for educating and making sure others had as amazing a trip as I could possibly help them create. I started from the ground up on how to document the subject of articles through photography. I had some ideas for how to create regular content around core theme areas, some of which persist to this day and some of which are best left in our archives. Those early years found a ton of great writers who built each other up while challenging each of us to be the best versions of ourselves. Through this labor of love known as the Gazette, I’ve had some amazing guest writers over the years and I have had the joy of being part of some amazing projects, such as Celebration Magazine, WDW Radio Show, and the Disney Magic Hour.

I say this every year, and every year it is even more honest, I wouldn’t be here without the dedicated readers that each of you are. Some of you come for history, some for food reviews, some for the explanation of details, some for my opinions, and some of you come back again and again, no matter what I’m discussing. You truly are the reason that I get behind this keyboard every day. Thank you, one and all, for being a part of these last ten years. Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or since last week, you are important to me and I hope that if you ever need anything I can be here for you.

I closed out the Main Street Gazette’s first article with a few words from Roy O. Disney’s dedication of the Magic Kingdom, including, “May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place… a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn together.” If I’ve been able to live up to even a tenth of that ideal, then I’ll consider these first 10 years a roaring success.

I don’t know where the next decade will take us, or what we’ll be doing, but a lot of that will come from what you tell us you want to see! Thank you for coming on this journey as I have blathered through the past decade, stumbling and bumbling my way to create a distinctive, personal voice in the crowded and incredible field of Disney enthusiasts and personalities. I cannot wait to see where we all go next.

Remembering One of Our Dear Friends

If the name Alan Mize rings a bell, it should. Alan was a longtime contributor to the Gazette and one of the founding members of the Gazette Roundtable. Over the weekend Alan passed away.

I met Alan many years ago when I was giving a talk in Raleigh, NC about the stories of Walt Disney World. His enthusiasm and knowledge impressed me, but not as much as how genuine he was. We emailed back and forth, and when it came time to start a writing group for the Gazette, I knew I wanted Alan’s voice in the mix. His passion always shined through in his writing and he was the one constant through all the shifting versions of the roundtable group. He was a linchpin of the project, and I could never than him enough for his generosity and dedication.

Alan would go on to write for other sites and do a handful of podcasts, including the Enchanted Tiki Talk Podcast. It was the day to day interactions with Alan through Twitter and Instagram that I will remember most from these last several years. Alan always found time to connect with people on an individual level through social media, which is not an easy task, but it was important to him.

If you knew Alan, then you know that the light of his life was the birth of his daughter just over three months ago. She filled almost every photo he sent out since she was born. We’ve all had the blessing of getting to know and spend time with her amazing father, and I am certain she will know of the light he brought to the world and to all of our lives. AGoFundMe page has been set up for Alan’s family. Funds from the page, while having exceed its goal, are to assist Alan’s wife, daughter, and family with medical and final expenses and to give Alan’s daughter a foundation for college tuition when it is time. No doubt Alan would want her to be a part of the NC State Wolfpack. Every little bit will help his family today and tomorrow, so I am asking each of you to do what you can for his family.

Alan was an amazing man and I cannot even fathom how much he will be missed. His brand of enthusiasm and earnestness is something this world needs more of. Thank you, Alan, for all you did for so many of us, the world is a little less bright this morning without you in it.

This Haunted Room

I’m sure it has been abundantly clear to all longtime readers of the Main Street Gazette that I had moved to a more sporadic schedule before seemingly dropping the entire Gazette flat on its backside. This explanation is well overdue, and for that I am truly sorry. The truth is I am dedicated to keeping up a weekly, though not daily schedule. However, the past month any and all free time has been spent packing up our house in preparation for a move to a new home. The move will commence this week and will likely take several weeks to restore the office, and all of my wonderful resource materials, to any sort of usable set-up, but we will be back up and running soon.

In the meantime, we will still be posting our Silent Saturdays and, over on Instagram and Twitter, our weekly photo safaris, so please drop by and visit us as we make our way through this transition and we’ll see you on the other side!

A Slow Moving Train

No excuses or promises today, but no goodbyes either.

You’ve seen the Main Street Gazette all but disappear in the past month or so, haven’t you? If it weren’t for the fact that I set up Silent Saturday articles almost six months in advance there wouldn’t be anything showing up in the past month. Yes, my day job keeps me extremely busy, but that doesn’t give me a free pass on not meeting the commitment I’ve made to all of the dedicated readers and friends.

In the past, an article such as this one would have told you I’m going to get back on track and articles are going to be posted regularly again starting right now. Those types of promises have led me down a road where I would get so frustrated with not being able to keep up with the schedule I had set out, that I would throw my hands up in disgust at myself and rather than do something, I’ve done nothing. I’ve heard from many of you, through comments, tweets, and emails that you were saying goodbye to the Main Street Gazette and how much you had enjoyed it through the years.

I’m here to tell you, the Main Street Gazette isn’t done, not by a long shot! That said, I’m not going to be making any promises that I know I cannot keep.

There will most certainly be new articles. In fact, I’ve already completed a pair that will run later this week. I’m not going to guarantee the old schedule, or even that there will be an article every single week. When I find a piece of news or discover an opinion that I have, there will be a Perspective piece. When a recipe or a restaurant strikes my fancy, we’ll post an Epicurean Displays. As a piece of history moves me and presents me with knowledge I want to impart, there will be a World of Yesterday. There will also be entries into The WDW Record as the little details are what make Walt Disney World so very special.

I feel at this time that I owe an apology to all of those members who made the WDW World News Roundtable such a success for so long. More times than I care to admit, they submitted wonderful articles for me to publish, but time and again I ran out of time and did not get them posted. Andrew, Alan, Estelle and Blake, thank you, one and all, for your time and contributions. I cannot apologize enough for letting you down, and I hope you’ll forgive me. If there is ever anything I can do for any of you, please do not hesitate to ask.

For all of the readers, those who have stuck around waiting and those who may have wandered off, I hope I can make the Main Street Gazette something that you will be proud of reading once again. I hope you will return and engage us with comments and questions and emails once again. And I hope to once again be that voice that speaks the truth about the Walt Disney World of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.

Now is the Time

As you may have noticed, I’ve been a bit unreliable over the past few months with how articles have been posted. Although the past couple of weeks have been back to the old form, there is still work to do, and I’m convinced that while it will not be easy to do, I will do my best to keep the content you know and love up to date as often as possible.

Now, you may have also noticed the change in schedule has been taking shape nicely, but that it leaves a gap on Fridays. I always hate leaving a day with nothing in the way of storytelling going on, especially since there are so many wonderful stories to tell when it comes to Walt Disney World. However, leaving the day open has been an intentional move on my part. Consider this an open invitation to all writers and photographers, professional, hobbyist, or amateur, who want to find another corner to showcase their tales in. If you have an idea that you would like to contribute to the Main Street Gazette as a guest columnist, please send your pitch to ryan@mainstgazette.com for consideration. Remember, this is going to be an open forum for all types and levels of writers, photographers, and bloggers, so there is no idea, big or small that isn’t worthy of attention!

Additionally, I am looking at beefing up the core group of writers who take part in the weekly roundtable that runs as part of Disney This Week. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be reaching out to writers in the community in the hopes that they will want to join the team. If you have someone you think would make an excellent addition to our little band, by all means send their name along to me so that I can reach out to them.

With a new direction and dedicated bunch of readers, I cannot wait to see where the Main Street Gazette is going next, and I hope you are just as excited as I am!

Happy birthday to you

All right folks, in a little less than two weeks I’m going to turn the big 3-1! That is to say a birthday without a whole lot of oomph behind it. So, I’m going to turn the Main Street Gazette over to all of you that day. Between now and Friday December 7, send me your questions and I’ll answer them for you, but I have to get at least 31 questions.

Ask me anything! Want to know who I think would win in a battle between Darth Vader and the Doctor? Done. Want me to expand upon the geodesic design element that runs rampant through Epcot? Sure thing. You really really want to know what my favorite song is? Got it.

So email me, tweet me, drop the questions onto my Facebook timeline, but make sure I get at least 31 questions! Now, if I get more than 31 questions, I’ll randomly draw 31 from the pool I have. If I don’t get 31 questions, you’re not going to get any answers, only an article about a gallery I adore that happens to reside somewhere in Walt Disney World. How’s that for inspiration!