Screen name:  WebmasterPete

Email:  [email protected]

Name:   Pete Werner

Location:  Orlando, Florida

Occupation:  President of Werner Technologies, Inc; Chief Executive Officer of Dreams Unlimited Travel, Inc.

DIS Role(s):  Webmaster of all sites in the Destination-Orlando network.

Which Disney parks around the world have you visited:  Walt Disney World, Disneyland California, Disney Cruise Line

Date of first Disney Trip:  1991

# of Disney Trips:  Too many to count

First Disney Attraction and reaction to it:  My first exposure to a Disney attraction was Spaceship Earth.  I'd never seen anything like it before.  I remember walking away simply amazed at how 'larger than life' everything was.  I was hooked!

Fav. Park and why:   To be honest, my answer to this changes every time I'm asked.  I love them all for various reasons.  I love the nostalgia at Magic Kigndom, I love the scope and granduer of Epcot, I like the intimacy and theming of MGM.  The jury is still out for me on Animal Kingdom, but I'm slowly warming up to it.

Fav. Attraction and why:  My all time favorite attraction is Pirates of the Caribbean.  I think that attraction embodies Walt's amazing creativity on so many levels.  It's quintessential Disney!

Fav. Show and why:  Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom.  This is Disney at its best.  They feature an amazing group of very talented performers (some of the singers are Broadway material), and the tumble monkeys alone are worth the hour wait time!

Fav. Resort and why:  The Polynesian is my favorite resort.  Again, I think it captures a theme and an atmosphere that no other resort on property can match.  It's original Disney, through and through.

Fav. Restaurant and why:  Well, I feel like a man without a country on this topic right now.  My favorites WERE Seasons at the Disney Institute, and Palio at the WDW Swan.  However, Seasons has closed recently, and Palio has changed their menu (for the worse).   I'm actively seeking a new 'favorite'.

Fav. Snack at WDW:   Two words...DOLE WHIP!

Fav. Disney Tip:  Honestly, the best tip I can give to anyone going to Disney World (and I don't care how many times you've been) is PLAN, PLAN, PLAN.  It's not necessary to do a minute by minute itinerary, but have a really good idea of what you want to do, and when.  This gives you a chance to see everything you'll want to see (you can't do it all in one vacation, no matter how good you are).

Fav. Disney Magical Moment/ Most Memorable Experience:  I have so many of them, it's hard to narrow just one.  I guess the most powerful experience I ever had at Walt Disney World was during my first visit.  At that time, I was fairly new in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, and had struggled for quite a while to get my life back on track.  I walked away from my first experience at Disney World with an amazing realization.  The sense of happiness and well being that I often sought through my drug use (and never achieved), was the same feeling I had at Disney World.  The sense that the world, and everything in it, was okay.  I made a promise to myself that for each year I stayed clean and sober, I would reward myself with a trip to the happiest place on earth. 

Words of Wisdom:  Never forget what Disney is all about.  It's about believing in magic.  You can, if you choose, focus on the negative, but then you've missed the entire point of Walt's vision.  For those of us who call Walt Disney World our "home",  we have discovered a place where life can stop, if only for a few days.  We've found a place where, regardless of who we are and what we do, that we can look at this "world" through the eyes of a child, either our own, or the one that lives inside each of us.  What an amazing legacy Walt left to the world.