Disneyland has plenty of superfans. But few are like Jon Hale, a man who has spent the last 10 years racking up hours on the Cars-inspired Radiator Springs Racers ride at Disney California Adventure.
The Brea, California, native will hold a world record for riding the attraction 15,000 times, a milestone he will hit this coming Monday, 8 December. This "happy place" for Hale has become an obsession, with each time on the ride meticulously noted in a substantial document held since he started doing this in 2012.
He noted things like the colour of the vehicle, the ride number, the lane he was in and whether he won the race. And each time he goes on the ride, he swaps out a small card in his lanyard which displays the running total of times he's done it. According to reports, every time he ticks past 100 rides, he creates a handmade sign and takes a celebratory photo of the occasion.
But how did something so unusual come about? 2012 saw Hale return from gastric bypass surgery, two knee replacements and a huge drop in weight after he revamped his diet and activity levels. But what started as a celebration turned into something that's now defined his life; just five years, five months and three days later, he had ridden the ride 10,000 times.
"I'm gonna go for 15,000 rides on Radiator Springs Racers," he told ABC7.
"When I got to 999, they pulled the car over to the side and they were all there waiting for me and they told me I got one more ride for 1,000, so they jumped in the car and gave me some stuff and that just spurred me on from there."
Since starting this challenge, he's also begun taking part in Disney marathons, with him completing three half-marathons, several 5k runs and a couple of 10ks.
Along the way he grew a following of over 9000 followers on Instagram, where he shares his latest updates.
With almost 15,000 races under his belt, Hale makes even Fernando Alonso’s 424 Formula 1 grand prix starts pale in comparison.
Read and post comments