The 23 Year Whistling Fart that Nobody Asked For...

Pacoima, CA - Under Your Mom’s Bed

It’s time… sit down, kid… we need to talk.

Westcoaster is done. This is it. The end. No photos today, sorry. Yesterday was a joke, today is definitely not a joke.

It was 1999, and we all had these grandiose ideas about a west coast based coaster club that would compete with organizations like ACE. But we eventually realized that wasn’t really worth the effort. Being the idiots that we collectively are… we started Westcoaster. And you’ve all been along for the ride. You’ve been here through the good and the bad, and yeah, sometimes things were rough… no denying it. Here we are, 23 years later. The SCCC —> Westcoaster that started on Goose’s message boards (if you know, you know) will cease updates from here on.

I never felt entirely comfortable with the role of “Jim Disney.” Number one… the name Jim has always been my most hated nickname of my given name (James). Secondly, I was in a position where anonymity was of huge importance. But the fun part was that the character of Jim… the snarky side of me, was the thing that let me express my true feelings and opinions. Whether I was calling out fan bloggers for their misguided and yes, click-baiting articles. Or trying in my own way… subtly as I could, to educate you all about what was actually happening without drama, bloviating articles, and flat out lies that other sites continue to this day. You know who you are.

The site was founded by me… that said I could never have done it alone. I had wonderful friends like Dan, Andrew, Rocky, Mike, etc. they were all a huge part of forming the site you know now. But there was (what I called) the tripod. Dan, Andrew, and me. The three of us formed a weird sort of creative trio that was a ton of fun to be a part of… truly, I could not have done this without them. We were with each other through thick and thin. Hell, on the morning of September 11th, 2001, Dan and I were scheduled to go have a meeting at Knott’s and a site shoot for the dismantling of Windjammer. I woke up to a phone call and by the time Dan showed up, we were watching, like so many others, the horrors of that day. I called Knott’s GM and said “I guess this isn’t happening today…” and the reply was “Yep.”

We have weathered so many challenges over the years… truthfully, I’d do it all again. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger… or maybe just flatulent, I’m not entirely sure.

I am so grateful for the various partnerships we’ve had over the years with theme parks, haunts, and all of you. But the one that really put us on the map was Knott’s Berry Farm. So I want to go out of the way to thank Jack Falfas, one of the best mentors I’ve ever had, Michele Wischmeyer, Dana Hammontree, Susan Tierney, Jeff Gahagan (aka. Pigeon Wrangler), Jason Soyster, and so many others in the Knott’s and the Cedar Fair family. You will always hold a special place in my heart.

Our updates… how do I put this… were weird. I loved taking the absolute mother loving piss out of the superfans and their hyper-focus on the dumbest shit ever. I’ll miss live tweeting (F.U. Elon Turd Burger) the annual shareholder meeting from Disney, and yes, now that Iger is back, I hope the guy who wants to dip him in acetone to see if he’s actually human shows up this year along with the always entertaining kid questions. Make sure you tune in on April 3rd at 10AM PST to hear the entertaining weirdness that is the shareholder meeting!

I was never not grateful for the responses we got too. It very honestly filled my soul with joy when someone would go out of their way to tell me to say that they were having a bad day and some dumb idiotic thing I wrote gave them a smile. That is sincere. I never really set out to make the site something that I actively thought would be a detachment from the actual harsh reality of life, but here we are.

On the flip, one of the coolest parts was seeing friendships form. Hell, there was even a Westcoaster meetup in Australia at one point! I’ve seen some of you grow and thrive as humans… getting married, having a family, even if we weren’t in constant contact, we’ve grown up together in a way. That touches my soul in the most meaningful way. Just last year, at a home haunt I hear, “You’re Jim Disney!! I grew up reading your site!” To quote a line from one of my favorite songs “I cannot pretend that a stranger is a long awaited friend.” It’s always jarring I have to admit, I’m a shy person by nature so it’s tough to take compliments… especially in person, but I appreciated it so much. To hear those words… relating to something we did, was 1. Humbling and 2. It was a moment to me that reminded me that I’d contributed to another person’s happiness. And in some pathetic small way, I hope that I’ve made you smile.

Albert took the operation of the site over a few years ago for many reasons, that he discussed in his article earlier today. His dedication, time, and quality of content is something I could never match. Like Dan, he has been a constant and consistent friend that I can count on for basically anything. Even if I give him an elephant’s load of shit sometimes. Last year we stood outside a home haunt in Buena Park last year, and I told him “It’s time.” This was all supposed to be an April Fools joke… but alas, all good things must eventually come to an end.

He’s been so diligent about keeping the site running, spending his own time and money to go out, take the photos, and then edit them, sometimes until 3-4AM, to give you the best theme park content. He is an absolutely brilliant photographer, he wrote in the same humorous narrative voice I started all those years ago, but in his own way, he found his own voice… and it was great to watch. He even made me laugh on many occasions (and if you know me, you know that’s a big compliment)! When all of this started, it was three people. Albert stepped it up in a huge way and took it all on, with the occasional contribution from your’s truly. All while balancing a marriage, a career, and so much more… I don’t know how he did it to be honest. I grow five grey hairs thinking about what I’ll have for dinner. And if you ever see him at a theme park (I mean this), he should never have to pay for a drink for the rest of his life.

I wept when I admitted to Albert that it was time to put our little baby to bed…

Albert and I came up with a fun idea… and it was fun. I was going to go full “Jim Disney” and be stupid as hell. But given time and the gravity of what we’re doing… sorry, I can’t.

This weighs too heavily on my heart to be silly. It is time to close this chapter. The site will remain up for a while. There will be no new content. Period. End of story.

Thank you to all of my wonderful co-conspirators in this adventure… that includes you.

Dan, I remember the first time we met at Disneyland. And I straight up went full Bruno (if you’ve seen Encanto, you know)… but we went from a 10 minute meeting to spending entire days together. You and me… we’ve seen some shit. But you’ve always been there. I know that (and I hope it never happens) if I was in any sort of bad place, I can call you and you’d give me the shirt off your back. Never doubt that I wouldn’t do the same for you.

Albert… this site is nothing without your contributions. You elevated the quality of our collective group of misfits and have made Westcoaster the standard by which everyone else now strives to emulate. I cannot count how many times I’ve been told “Nobody can beat Westcoaster when it comes to picture quality.” Except for the impeccable quality of Dan’s first HP digital camera photos.

Andrew… you made all of our early logos (and more than once drunkenly threw yourself down the nets in the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at DCA). You helped define the look, feel and yes, the humor that went into the site in the early days. Thank you.

Luke and Matt… you were always there for me. Good times and bad, and my life would be less full of happiness without you in it. To this day, I love our interactions and catch up calls and texts. You, like Dan and Albert, are absolutely family to me.

Wes… thank you not only for being a great friend, but also for Wes’ Toaster. You’ve been one of the most wonderful gifts in my life. We’ve traveled and have had amazing adventures together. You are truly one of the funniest, most irreverent people I know, and you’re an incredibly wonderful, loving friend, and a great husband to your lovely wife.

Gregg, Norm and Gabe… You are three incredible people who have been such a great gift to my life, and I know Albert would echo this sentiment. Gregg, Norm and I have weathered a lot over the years. It wasn’t always good. Think of three teenage siblings… and while we’re still mentally 12, we’ve grown up and I love you guys. Gabe, you were the latest addition and you’ve never been anything but amazing. When I first met you I felt like I knew you for decades… never stop being exactly who you are!

To all the parks that tolerated and embraced our silliness, thank you.

Last and most important. My wife. We’ve both seen some stuff. We’ve been through the wringer. I’m the luckiest boy in the world to even know you… and you said yes when I asked you to marry me (and I promptly dropped the ring before putting it on your finger like a god damn putz). You’ve been nothing but supportive in this entire endeavor. You’re a walking, talking dream come true.

And you… yes, you… I’M TALKING TO YOU… the reader. The supporter. The person who has laughed at my stupid jokes. The person who might have just laughed at my expense because I said or did something dumb. YOU are the backbone of Westcoaster. Without you, this site would have had no purpose. No reason to ever exist. You have put up with my idiocy over the years. You loved the pictures of dirt and “noodles.” Pictures of pigeons. Domokun, rabbids, dynamite monkey… you were there through all of it. And no, I will not pay your therapy bills because of it.

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Here we are. The last words to be written on this site ever (this is the emotionally scary part for me). How do I do this? What do I do with my hands? Who am I? What am I? What comes next? Why is my burrito cold? Why is there some rando staring at me through the window? Dammit, I’mma order some sushi or maybe some nachos or… no, I know what I’m gonna do, I’m getting Tommy’s and be a fat kid tonight. Or maybe a salad. Does Tommy’s make a chili-cheese salad? Why are Hippos so hip? OH. MY. GOD. There’s a squirrel outside! Wait… no, focus, focus. The site has been a 23 year old whistling fart that nobody wanted. Nobody needed it. Nobody asked for it. But tough shit, you got it.

I have to go out with eloquence… not a fart joke. You dealt with Albert and my warped senses of humor, along with the occasional contributions from Dan and Andrew early on. I seriously don’t know how you all tolerated us for this long. (Again, I’m not paying your therapy bills.)

Sincerely… I love you all. You’ve made this journey one of the greatest adventures that has taken up over half of my life. Maybe I should ask you to pay my therapy bills. Jkjk, truly love you all. If we’ve ever met, thank you for all the kind words and happy interactions. If we’ve never met, I hope that Albert and I have brought a smile to your faces at least once.

Go forth from this last little statement.

Never take yourself too seriously. Be thankful. Be grateful for this beautiful adventure we call life. Never fail to be kind. Embrace this wonderful gift of life… we all have a shared love theme parks and experiences. Take it all in!

My wish for all of you is this: I wish you a prosperous life. I wish for you to pursue your passions and be fulfilled in your careers. I wish for you to try to make a difference in this world, and by your actions, please leave those around you better than you found them. Remember life lesson #1. Don’t be a dick. Please be good humans.

With all of that said… for the last time. (This is hard to do, I promise you, I’ve shed many tears over it.)

GOO BAH!!!!

Jim Disney

Owner/Founder/Farting all the time/Once wrestled a squirrel and got a black eye/Accidentally ate way too much wasabi more than once/No seriously, it was really embarrassing/Sometimes bad choice maker/Creative Director for some awesome stuff/Writer for things I can’t tell you about/Can recite the entire movie Tombstone on demand/Okay I should really stop soon, but I’m having a hard time saying goodbye to all of your faces/No seriously, it’s hard… when I stop… it’s OVER and it’s gonna make me cry like a teen girl at a [insert name of boy band of the month here] concert/So let’s talk about you, how’ve you been? Good? Awesome!/Can I pet your dog?/You gonna finish those fries?/Go clean your room, David… I know there’s a David reading this with a messy room/But seriously you all, these are the last words to be written on Westcoaster ever/Savant/Genius/Has smart thinky parts/Wait… I wish we could do this all again/What did you think of the Game of Thrones finale?/No, no… this is where I end it… thank you. Goodbye.

For one last time… MOOOOOO!!!!!