My name is "Tom" and I'm a Disney nerd.

Originally Posted By TomSawyer

I was watching the Modern Marvels special on Walt Disney World with my wife a few days ago. There was a lot of archival footage of old Disneyland, and some of it was a little out of context with what they were talking about. They talked about the initial construction of Disneyland while showing the monorail construction, for example.

As we were watching, I was saying things like:

"Wow, that's the phantom boat lake. That's a really early shot of Tomorrowland."

"Cool, that's the Viewliner. That locomotive is just a chopped up car, you know."

"That wasn't from the construction of DL - it was the big Tomorrowland redo in 1959."

I was also saying the names of the Imagineers they interviewed before the name came up on the screen. "There's Bob Gurr. He's written a lot for LP. He was the one who kidnapped Nixon on the monorail." I pointed out Marty Sklar and Tony Baxter and Joe Rohde to her as well.

She noticed that the Dinosaur ride vehicles were just like the ones at Indy, and I told her the ride layout was the same even though the show was different.

She started ignoring me.

She rolled her eyes - rolled her eyes! - when I said I wanted to put a small sign up in our front yard. We're going to get the lawn torn up and we'll be putting in planting beds. We currently have the ugliest yard on the street. I told Kelly I wanted to put up an 8 foot high fence around the yard with a sign on it that says "Please pardon us while we Imagineer a new front yard!"

She usually looks amused when friends of ours mention that they are going to Disneyland. I can usually tell them what's likely to be open and closed when they are there and what has changed since their last visit.

I really had no idea how much of a Disney nerd I was until watching that Modern Marvels episode, though. In an aerial shot of the orange groves before they started clearing the space for DL, I was looking for the row of trees that still stands behind City Hall, and the old house that was moved backstage between Main Street and Tomorrowland. Everytime they were talking to an imagineer in front of a model or drawing, I was trying to figure out what attraction it was in case it was something that hadn't been built yet. And I was actually excited to see the original erector set model of Soarin's ride mechanism on the screen - which of course I identified to my wife before they even started talking about it.

So how bad do you have it?

 

Originally Posted By friendofdd

That is so very, very sad.

 

Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA

Don't feel bad, Tom. There's a whole 'nother thread on the boards about people who like the pens, yes, the ball point pens that Disney has at their resorts.

In fact, on LP member is mailing a Disney ballpoint pen to another LP member.

Not that's Disney nerddom.

 

Originally Posted By TomSawyer

(I was joking about the fence, but I still like the idea of a small sign in the torn-up front yard)

 

Originally Posted By Ursula

Tom, you and my husband need to have lunch. He has the luck to work at Disney and a nice lady in his building has the job of vaulting all old DL footage, meaning, she has to look at and log everything. On his break, he is usually gawking and discussing and she is just kind enough to tolerate him.

 

Originally Posted By wahooskipper

Well, you accomplished Step 1 -- admitting you have a problem.

 

Originally Posted By JazzCat

Thanks Tom! I learned a few new things today because of your post. I had no idea there was a house between Main Street and Tomorrowland.

 

Originally Posted By Elderp

"Well, you accomplished Step 1 -- admitting you have a problem"

Step 2 Go to Disneyland.
Step 3 Buy a Dole Whip.

 

Originally Posted By Ursula

Step 4 Buy Ursula something.

 

Originally Posted By TomSawyer

JazzCat, I think it's long gone. One of the people who lived in the house wound up working at Disneyland from opening to just a few years ago - I'll have to look up the issue of E-Ticket that had the article.

 

Originally Posted By sherrytodd

I may have it worse. I was actually yelling at the TV during that show whenever they got even the minutest detail wrong. And I love my white on white w/ gold lettering WDW pen! =þ

Is there some sort of ten step program or something?

 

Originally Posted By TomSawyer

>>Is there some sort of ten step program or something?<<

Maybe we should set one up. We could all meet at the Lost Bar.

 

Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA

There was a time when I thought I had a Disney obsession.

It ended about 5 years ago when I joined LP.com -- I don't hold a candle to you guys!

White on white WDW Resort PENS!?!???

You gotta be frickin' kiddin' me??

 

Originally Posted By sherrytodd

Now I only own one white on white pen and I can quit at any time.

=)

 

Originally Posted By wahooskipper

Jim, I thought the SAME EXACT THING when I saw that thread. I am going to print screen it so I can prove to my friends that I am not really "obsessed".

 

Originally Posted By sherrytodd

*In a soft cultish voice*
Your friends won't believe you Wahoo. They don't understand you like we do. Pick up the pen Wahoo. Look at the pretty gold letters. Pick up the pen and join us....

 

Originally Posted By wahooskipper

Well, truth be told, there are probably a number of Disney resort pens in my office and at home...but I haven't obses.....wait...I see something on the floor over there...I'll have to get back to you.

 

Originally Posted By cape cod joe

I started yelling for the kids last night to see the travel channel special I've seen 10 times before but no one in my house cared as they've seen it so many times.
We converted our 6th bedroom, over the 3 car garage to a Florida room with MOSTLY disney pics, decor, etc. Brad has a lot of his bucket of toy soldiers, TOT posters, and on and on.
It spills over into the exercise room with posters of us on the RNRRC and SM! In the exercise room wic I have over 30 sweatshirts from disney.
Down the hallway in the main bedroom section wing of our house we have the kids' bedrooms with disney stuff all over. Brad has maps of every Park and Rachel has massive disney stuff. In her bathroom we have the disney soap (mickey) and the stuff from DTD > you know the soap with things inside like golf tees, etc? Brad has a sponge bob bathroom but has disney stuff in there too. One of the other bedrooms Diane converted into her "sewing room" which is Disney free as is the other upstairs guest bedroom which is a disney free zone.
Down in the President's Foyer we have a ton of stuff from the HOP gift shop next to the Bible and Joel Osteen's books. It the golf library we have the disney golf paraphenalia sp? from mostly DTD gift shops e.g. golf disney clocks, etc.
In the dining room we have dishes etc from disney, and the disney monopoly game that is still on the table from our New Year's Eve trip--we don't eat home there much.
In the kitchen we have mickey AND minnie aprons and stuff from the DTD store. In our donwstairs "mickey lighthouse bathroom" we have the mickey soap from all the resorts, and that other downtown soap with mmmm's in it.
In the laundry room we have our golf clubs with all the mickey mouse golf balls. My daughter Rachel has the Tigger head covers of course. In the wic next to lighthouse mickey bathroom I have more than 20 WDW from all the resorts we stayed at etc. Rachel's friend, just last week asked her "What's with your dad and the disney hats?" She feigned not being related to me as usual
Let me see what else?????????
In the living room we have assorted WDW family pics.
In the master bedroom 3rd wing of the house we have over 15 mickey and minnie towels that I keep on buying cause they're so nice I never want to use them
They're piled up by the jacuzzi, Diane's minnie's on one side, my mickey's on the other.
In the master bath (bigger than the PC rooms-around 350 square feet) we have also all the mickey soaps and the soaps with the golf tees and stuff in them.
In the WIC--my side has over 25 mickey golf shirts, etc, and stuff I bought at the Millenia Mall. Diane has all her stuff like winnie the pooh overalls etc. In one of my clothes bureaus, I have 3 whole draws stuffed with all disney t shirts> over 50 at least.
And this is from my wife who said to a clerk at that biggest disney store in the world "I'm not that much of a mickey person.
Did I say about the mickey thing on Diane's volvo antenna?
It goes on and on!!!

What's the first step Tom in that 10 step program?
Should we talk about the Orlando real estate?
Trust me--this is just scratching the surface.

 

Originally Posted By Mary Poppins

I think it's nice you know so much, Tom. What is wrong with having a personal hobby that is Disney facts? I have the passion for Disney but I'm not smart enough to know all the facts. I just know that it's a minor obsession of mine. We're in the right place here on LP!

 

Originally Posted By TomSawyer

I bet Jim in Merced has a postcard of Sleeping Beauty's Castle taped to the wall behind his black and white 12" TV.