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!