"My favorite Disney toy has to be the first Mickey I received as a kid."
D23 first met up with D23 Member John Alois during D23′s Disney Fanniversary Celebration in Chicago, Illinois. Not far from there, in Washington, Illinois, John lives with his wife and two kids—and that’s “122.27 miles from the nearest Disney Store,” he points out. A dedicated Disney fan and “Disney dad,” John starts each morning with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and regularly takes his family on vacations to the parks. And Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney World are just where his fascination with Disney began.
It All Started With a Mouse
“My favorite Disney toy has to be the first Mickey I received as a kid. I got it on my first trip to Walt Disney World when I was four. Of all my toys, it’s the only one that was never put into storage, given away, or sold. It has remained with me my whole life and still takes Disney trips with us.”
"This photo was taken moments after our engagement in front of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World."
Disney Dreamers
“You can’t tell the story of my family without Disney. The passion started before I was even born when my parents were kids in the ’50s, growing up in Chicago. My mom dreamed of being a Mouseketeer and my dad wanted nothing more than to go to Disneyland. His parents couldn’t make the trek out west, but he would eventually take them, almost 25 years after it opened. The ‘Mouse’ craze was passed down to me, of course, and my earliest memories are of looking at my dad’s Disneyland Viewmaster reels and watching Walt on reruns of The Wonderful World of Disney.”
A Fantasy Proposal
“With ring box in hand, I lagged behind while boarding the plane so security wouldn’t give away my secret. It was only four months after 9/11 and security was tight, so I had to repeat this step several times, including the baggage check in the Magic Kingdom. A kind, older gentleman caught a glimpse of the box I was carrying. I looked at him and threw my pointer finger up against my lips as quickly as possible. With a wink, he sent me on my way. We marched down Main Street, U.S.A., and my girlfriend wanted to hit the attractions. First things first, I thought, and insisted we see the castle close-up before venturing through the park. There, just in front of Cinderella Castle, I asked her to spend the rest of her life with me, and she said yes. That castle had been such an icon to me, and now it means even more to us. ’Magic Happens’ is engraved inside our wedding rings and ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’ was played on our big day.”
"My family and I pose on the spot where we got engaged, a few years later."
Part of the Club
“From the time my son was about three, he’s studied park maps so we have them mounted on our playroom wall with the famous quote, ‘To all who come to this happy place, welcome.’ above it. Today, my son can’t get enough of Cars and Pirates—and to my daughter, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is the equivalent to my first cup of morning coffee. She’s grouchy till she hears M-I-C-K-E-Y… and so the tradition continues.”
By D23′s Billy Stanek
