The day has come.
My
first time on Radiator Springs Racers was on June 10th, 2012. This was a
Preview day for the attraction. My very first ride, I lost my hat. It
was recovered and I got it in the mail 2 days later. I also found out
they had a single rider line. I ended up with 7 rides on that day. I did
not plan to go on the ride 10,000 times. A couple things happened to
start me towards this goal. After ride 999, the cast members were
waiting for me at one of the unload areas. Five of them jumped in the
car for ride 1,000. That spurred me on to reach 2,000. The local ABC
news came out to cover that ride. By that time I was on my way to
becoming friends with several cast members. Their support kept me coming
back for more rides. It was after the 5,000 ride that I knew I wanted
to reach 10,000. It is a good round number. I also told the OC Register
reporter about obtaining that goal.
This
year was the most crowded of all the years of racing. I went on 2823
times in 2016 but only 1610 times so far this year. The secret of the
single rider line is no secret.
I
arrived as usual when the parking structure opened. My friend David
Crown took me to breakfast at Rainforest Cafe. We came into the park and
went on Guardians. This was number 107.
I wanted the 10,000 to be very special and these are my friends I was lucky enough to ride with.
Carlene Beckius, Catalina Simpson, Heather Hebenstreit, Rosanna Hughes and Meli Carlos.
I
first met Carlene back in 2013. It was right after I went on Racers for
the 300th time. One of the managers had the cast members clapping when I
came back after the ride. I asked to get a photo with the crew, and
Carlene was one of them. I was also lucky enough to have her in the
1,000 car with the other cast members. When I reached the 3,000 ride,
Carlene came in on her day off so she could ride with me. She was in the
front row and I was in the back. She took some selfies of the ride.
Since then, I’ve made sure she was able to ride in all the big milestone
cars. She has always had a knack for knowing how many rides I have
during the day or if I was in a certain color car a few times in a row.
I
also got to know Catalina in December 2013. On the 2,000 ride there was
an empty seat and I asked if Catalina could get in the car. Besides
that ride, she has been in the 4,000, 5,000, 6000, 7,000 and 8,000 Cars.
Catalina also invited me to her wedding. I could not make it because I
could not get the day off from work. She always had something nice to
say every time I came to the ride. She and her husband Deane have a 5
month old little girl. Sierra is very cute. The few times I’ve gone to
visit them, Catalina tells Sierra, this is your “Uncle Jon”.
Carlene
and Catalina are my “Besties” at the ride. Their support and motivation
have helped me along the way. They have taken countless photos with me.
They have never said no to a selfie. Even on days they did not think
they looked their best. They are still 10 times better looking than Ian
on my good days. I’ve been lucky to know them away from the ride. From
watching them play softball to going to dinner and movies. They have
been the best “sisters” I could ever hope for. I always wish them the
best in all their future endeavors.
I’ve
known Heather the longest. We worked together at HRTV. She now works
with the Main Street Trolley horses in Disneyland. It’s fun to go see
her working there. I’m also friends with her Mom Dorise. I’ve gotten to
go to their house for Christmas and 4th of July parties. She was also in
the 8000 and 9000 Cars. She is also a great GoPro operator.
Rosanna
is the cast member who always blames me for the ride breaking down.
Jokingly of course. She points her finger at me and tells me “to
behave”, after the ride has experienced a downtime. I’m glad she was
able to ride with us today.
Meli
is another of my good friends at Racers. She always welcomes me with a
“Lucky Hug”. She is always amazed how many rides I can get when the
single rider line is short. She was also in the 7000 car.
So
at around 12:15pm, I got all my riders together and we got into car red
4. We were on Luigi side for the race and won the race. Carlene and
Heather held my 2 GoPro cameras. There were also several of my friends
taking pictures and videos. We got post race pictures and I got a little
emotional as I gave each one of my co riders a hug. I’m the lucky one
who got to ride with these awesome ladies. I also got photos with my
other friends who came out for the milestone. And my friend Karen gave
me a hat with Mr. 10,000 on one side and 11/13/17 on the other. Best
gift ever.
Then
I went with my friends David, Heather and Dorise across Harbor Blvd. to
meet Greg Lee. He is a reporter with ABC7 LA. He did an interview of the
big ride. Pretty cool.
Went
to lunch with David, Dorise and Heather. After, we went on Racers,
Luigi’s and then Guardians. I did a Skype interview with Cal State
Fullerton TV news. Went on Racers one more time. I’m now at 10,002.
It
was a great day. We will see what the rest of the year holds for me. I
know I need to reach 10,101 on December 8th with the Cree Family,
coming down from Oregon. And continue on from there.
KA CHOW
Back row: l to r: Meli, me, Rosanna
Front: Heather, Catalina, and Carlene.
