Matt Ouimet rides Space Mountain as a guest

[DisneyDaniel]

One would think that Disneyland Resort President Matt Ouimet could ride the re-opened Space Mountain whenever he wants, bring any guests he wants, and head straight to the front without standing in line. But that was not the case on July 4, 2005 when Matt and his daughter entered the Space Mountain attraction by standing in line, just like any regular guest.

As I stood in line for Space Mountain with a posted wait time of 45 minutes at 10:30 a.m., I noticed someone not that far behind me who looks like Matt and he was accompanied by a teen-age girl. However, he was dressed casually just like many guests would on a warm July in Southern California: polo shirt, shorts, shoes with no socks, and sunglasses (but not worn). There was no name badge and nothing to indicate him as a Cast Member.

However, this gentleman looked just like Matt Ouimet, and if he was enjoying a day in the park on a holiday, then I wanted to respect his privacy. So, I did and didn't bother him. No one else in line paid any attention to him either since we're all seemingly just guests in line.

Thirty minutes later, as we're entering the "space ship, rocket-loading area" inside, I just had to ask and find out. It was killing inside if I walked away without knowing, even though I've seen and met him briefly a couple times at the park before, but he previously wore his name tag and was dressed like management.

After politely asking him if he was Matt Ouimet, he said, "Yes." Then he asked for my name, shook my hand, and engaged me in a brief conversation. Among other things, Matt said he had ridden Space Mountain prior to that day, but he was there to ride it with his daughter, who had not gone on the ride yet since its reopening.

...So, the point of this narrative is that I was really impressed that Matt chose to stand in line with his daughter as park guests. It was also great parenting that his daughter stood in line and experienced the entire Space Mountain queue, even though her father is the Disneyland Resort president! Matt was friendly, very personable--and reminded me of those legendary stories of how Walt Disney would sometimes stroll through Disneyland during normal operating hours.

Needless to say, meeting Matt at Disneyland--and seeing that he stands in line, too--was the highlight of my 4th of July!

Here's a picture of Matt and his daughter in the front row on Space Mountain: