Meet John J. Buxbaum
June 29, 2008
What is your name? John J. Buxbaum
John Buxbaum with sons, Thomas and Andrew.
Who does your family consist of? Myself, Karen – my EVER patient wife, Thomas, my oldest boy, and Andrew, my younger boy.
What is your occupation? I am a Network Engineer at AT&T.
Who is your favorite Disney Character and why? Hands down, it is Baloo. Baloo has been my favourite for as long as I can remember. I have a LP (yes a vinyl record) of the Jungle Book movie which I listened to all the time as a child. Phil Harris, who did the voice, was the personal choice of Walt Disney and Jungle Book was the last movie he was involved with. I think Phil just brought Baloo to life. I have Baloo/Jungle Book tshirts I wear when I know I’m gonna see Baloo. He usually goes crazy, so I guess he doesn’t find many folks wearing shirts with him on it. I’ve had him grab King Louie away from a real kid (4 or 5 years old) and bring him to me to show him my shirt. Last year he took me up and down the line of 20 people waiting to see him and King Louie to show them my shirt. He is always a blast and to me he’s Papa Bear. I even have a Disney name tag with John”Papa Bear” on it.
How many times have you vacationed to a Disney destination? My first trip was in 1999… hard to believe but my parents never took me. I’ve always wanted to go…of course. We went again in 2002, and 2007. Thanks to a promotion this year we are going back to celebrate this year.
What is your favorite Disney Resort (or off site property) and why? I haven’t stayed there yet, just visited but I love The Wilderness Lodge. I hope our stay lives up to my expectations. I have eaten there each trip we have been at the WCC and I love the place when we go and walk around.
What is your favorite Disney restaurant, in or out of the parks? I think my favourite restaurant is a tough call. As I mentioned I just LOVE the Whispering Canyon Café. I also really like Liberty Tree Tavern. Having said that I also liked the Coral Reef. The food was great and the tank was gorgeous. I still have to say that WCC is my favourite!!
What is your favorite ride or attraction at any of the Disney parks? I think my favourite ride is Pirates of the Caribbean. Love the music, and the ‘updates’ they made were well done (Unlike, in my opinion, the ruination of Alien Encounter).
When visiting Disney theme parks, do you "park hop" or not and why? We do park hop. We get our major riding in in the morning, pre afternoon break, do a dinner sometimes in a different park with ‘Class 2’ attraction visits J I hesitate to say ‘Class 2’ as everything in Disney is top notch.
What is your favorite Disney memory? I’ve share this before but it still gets me teary when I think of it. It was in our November 2002 (NJ Week) trip. Back then when you booked a package you got some extras, just like now. One of the extras then was a free photo shoot with Mickey at the studio in Downtown Disney. I was sad to find out last year that it had replaced by the Princess studio. Anyway, we made an appt for a photo shoot at 7pm and headed to DTD for dinner and shopping. At 7pm we walked in to the photo studio. There was no one there. We signed in, and went back and there was Mickey J Thomas was ecstatic, and wanted to show Mickey his cars. I said wait until after we took the pictures and he did. As soon as the pictures were taken he got his cars from the stroller and showed them to Mickey. I didn’t want to take up Mickey’s time so I went to guide Thomas back to the stroller. Mickey had other ideas. He gently pushed me way and plopped down on the floor with Thomas who was in the middle of showing Mickey how fast the cars went on the floor. Thomas and Mickey spent the next 15 minutes playing cars. I don’t know who the CM was but I will never forget the sight of Mickey and my son playing cars. Thomas doesn’t remember this but I will… always.
What is your favorite "extra cost" event/tour? They don’t do this any more but my wife and I, on our first pre kid visit in 1999 we did the Inside Disney Animation Tour. We loved this and still have the Cel’s we painted. But since this isn’t available any more I think I would say the Magical Gathering Fireworks Cruise. We Got our favourite picture of the boys at this with Capt Hook and Mr Smee. It is priceless (a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sorahl1/CaptHookMrSmeeAndTheBoys/photo#5212672993024237474">). We would love one day to do the safari sunset or sunrise.
Have you met any MFL members at a Disney park? If so, who and what did you do? We haven’t been able to meet anyone yet.
Besides "things Disney", what do you like to do in your free time? In my non work time I play with my boys, snuggle with my wife, play on my xbox, coach baseball and soccer, help out at AWANA at church, and one of the folks on the Drama team at church.
What would people be surprised to know about you? HmmmWell everyone already knows I’m just a 10 year old stuck in a balding 41 year old body J but.. I guess this – I’ve lived in 4 countries, 6 states and first traveled on a plane by myself at 3 years old.
What is your best MouseForLess money saving tip? This is tough…I have to say that the best MONEY saving tip is to plan your trip well. Disney is expensive but you get a lot of value and content for that money. Plan your time in the parks well and you will not waste it. Last year we went the first week of august and it was crowded and we went on EVERY ride and every show we wanted without waiting on line more than 10 minutes. We all know people who don’t plan and spend hours on lines.
What area of TheMouseForLess.com do you use most frequently? Can I say the list? It’s where I spend most of my time, reading and sending emails with everyone.
What is your favorite aspect of MFL? Again the list. We may not always agree but we are always there to help each other.
