Two months into the Meet Your Moms Panel series and we are finally hearing from a Dad! Doug Ingersoll has the distinct honor of being the second ever dad on the panel; making his debut in 2009. Now of course, Doug is joined by six dads this year in addition to the original dad from 2008, Bret C.
These informal interviews are meant to be a jumping off point from the bios that appear on the DisneyWorldMoms.com site where you can learn about every panelist’s background and experience with Walt Disney World, and see their personal videos as well. Once you check them out there, you can get to know the panelists a little better here!
Doug had been one of the few existing panelists that I had not met, either during training in December or at other events at Walt Disney World. That was remedied in February, when Doug was in the World for an interview with Peter Greenberg because of his expertise. Oh yes, Doug has taken his knowledge to the next level and actually wrote a book on it (ok two books)! Doug is responsible for the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Walt Disney World, first published in 2007 with continued updated editions each year since. Before that, Doug published Plan Your Walt Disney World Vacation in No Time, so it’s clear he was an obvious choice to join the Moms Panel, even as a dad! So lets get to know Doug a bit more, in his own words –
How did you first get interested in the Disney parks?
As a child our family lived outside the US due to my dad’s job. When we got to go home every summer, we always came by Tampa to visit a relative, and Disney park visits were a regular summer treat, since back in 1972. My “Aunt Dorothy”, who was basically my grandmother, and I would sit together at the Enchanted Tiki Room together, and when I go there to this day I can still feel her sitting next to me.
Besides Disney, what are you most passionate about?
My kids. They are such a blast to watch, I would do anything for them.
Tell us about your family – are they Disney fans too? What are some of your most memorable family experiences?
Every night my daughters ask me to tell them about one attraction, one restaurant, or one resort as a bedtime story. But my most memorable experience is when I went to the parks with my then 4-year old niece. I had been going annually seemingly since the Magic Kingdom opened, but that was the first time as an adult that I got to see it again through the eyes of a child. That moment was what re-energized my passion for Walt Disney World.
What is your dream job (you can answer at Disney, not Disney, both or neither!)
Series editor/author for the Official Walt Disney World travel guide series. {I’d hire you! Makes perfect sense to me. ~Z}
What is your favorite Disney restaurant and why?
California Grill. The first meal I had with my wife after I proposed, and it was as romantic of a moment as such a moment should be, but rarely is.
What is the first thing you do when you arrive at Disney visit? What is your MUST DO during each visit?
Ride the Monorail.
Once in the park, however, a visit to the Enchanted Tiki Room.
What do you wish there were more of at Disney? Less?
More table service restaurants in the Magic Kingdom. Less bus transfers to get from resort to resort.
What type of music are you into?
A little of anything, and not much of one thing.
What’s the last book you read that you really enjoyed?
The Basque History of the World.
Describe YOUR perfect Disney vacation (could be solo, with family, friends anything, no limitations).
Wife and girls, Polynesian concierge room, with a Magic Kingdom view. Family and friends arriving on the third to last day, so that we have “just us” time, but also get to share some great memories with all of them too. A table full of Disney Moms is hard to argue with (literally)!
Feel free to share your little “interesting tid-bit” from training or some other surprising fact about you. (that you don’t mind the internet knowing!)
I bought Disney stock when I was a Sophomore in High School when the company was rumored to be going under. It ended up instead paying for Graduate school. Now THAT is Disney Magic! {I should say! ~Z}
Thank you so much for sharing with us, Doug! I loved learning a bit more about your background and what made you a Disney fan. Remember to look for Doug at the Walt Disney World Moms Panel, where you can ask him all of your Disney World vacation planning questions. You can also follow Doug on twitter @INDoug. And just maybe you’ll see him the next time you visit Walt Disney World, too!