In 12 days, an engineer from Atlanta rode every Disney ride on the planet. Here’s the method he used.
Nathan Firesheets made the epic trek to Disney parks on three countries using his own money and two weeks of holiday time.
To ride every ride at every Disney park in 12 days seems like an impossible holiday.
That’s 216 rides spread among 12 parks, 4 nations, and 3 continents.
Nevertheless, an Atlantan named Nathan Firesheets seems to have accomplished the feat this month after acquiring a small global following while chronicling his journey in a series of jubilant selfies in which he consistently gave the thumbs up.
There were no sponsors for the 34-year-old audiovisual systems engineer, not even Disney (he said they never called him back). Firesheets is just a guy who likes theme parks and wanted to do something amazing for two weeks of his holiday.
The following information regarding his remarkable journey, including how much it cost, is provided:
“The most absurd Disney task ever devised”
In Disneyland Paris, where he fastened a placard announcing his mission to his rucksack, Firesheets set out on his trek on March 8.
The caption used the hashtag #DisneyGlobalRideChallenge and said, “I’m riding every ride at all 12 Disney parks in 12 days.”
It was captured on camera, and a picture of it was quickly uploaded to Twitter.
With only about 70,000 views, it wasn’t exactly a viral hit. However, Firesheets claimed that his fan base immediately increased from a few hundred to a few thousand, and it kept increasing as he posted updates about his mission on Twitter and YouTube, where he dubbed it “the craziest Disney challenge ever invented.”
One person commented, “Sounds hectic. I’m curious.”
One man wrote, “That can’t be consecutive days right?” in disbelief. Another merely stated, “I feel exhausted,”
Firesheets’ adventure received so much attention on social media that, according to him, a few tourists and cast members even recognised him while he was travelling.
How did he do it?
Last summer, Firesheets began making preparations for the trip. He had already completed many lesser Disney challenges and had learned many professional strategies for finishing every ride in a day at different Disney parks, including getting early access, giving more priority to popular attractions, and using FastPass to skip lines.
Booking the flights alone proved to be the toughest obstacle. Tourism to Japan and China was highly constrained at the time Firesheets started arranging the journey due to the pandemic.
At that moment, Firesheets recalled, “it was a waiting game and just sitting and observing travel restrictions.”
In October, Japan opened its doors. China launched in January with everything in motion.
Firesheets then had to take into account additional constraints. For instance, Air France only offered three flights each week between Paris and Shanghai. Tuesdays and Thursdays were still closed for business at Hong Kong Disneyland. In addition, even though his search had already begun, he would need to take a COVID exam before taking a flight to China.
He didn’t mind going through all the hoops to eventually book the flights.
I love the logistical and problem-solving sides of it because I’m an engineer, he remarked.
Hiccups
Firesheets claimed that he was fortunate not to experience any significant travel-related concerns, but a few snags did arise.
A few weeks prior to the trip, his planned ticket from Hong Kong to Tokyo was cancelled, forcing him to rebook on an earlier flight at a higher cost.
A transportation strike then started to happen while Firesheets was in Paris. To take a COVID test, he had to travel to the airport and return. In the end, a $20 train ticket that would have taken 10 minutes turned into a $80 cab ride that took an hour.
The excursion also presented a physical challenge.
Firesheets planned for wear and tear on his body by never wearing the same pair of shoes twice, and he always carried extra socks.
Firesheets claimed that he was able to obtain between four and six hours of sleep each night. Yet by the conclusion of the trip, he was so exhausted that in Anaheim, California, he missed four alarms.
He had intended to do all the rides at California Adventure in under four hours and catch a 2 p.m. bus, but that foiled his plans. takeoff towards Orlando. Firesheets eventually took around nine hours, and he had to change his trip to a red-eye.
Fortunately, Firesheets was still able to complete the 12-day challenge on March 19 at the Magic Kingdom.
The cost
Overall, according to Firesheets, the trip cost around $12,000, which is roughly $100,000 less than a Disney-organized vacation to all 12 parks.
The Taj Mahal, the Pyramids of Giza, and the Eiffel Tower are all included in this trip, which starts at $110,000 and departs on July 9.
Firesheets claimed he enjoyed the time of his life despite the somewhat hectic pace.
He remarked, “These parks have so many amazing rides,” and added that his favourite recent find was Tokyo Disney’s Beauty and the Beast due to its incredibly lifelike animatronics.
