What if a single trip to Disney at age 7 earned you benefits for life?
That’s exactly what happened to Virgil Waytes. In 1985, Disney named him its 200 millionth guest. He recently shared the story on social media, where it quickly went viral.
“Tell me something random about yourself, that nobody will believe,” he wrote on Threads back in May.
“I will go first, I was the 200 millionth guest to Disney and I received a lifetime pass and can bring 3 guests and they get in free. All Disney Parks and no blackout dates,” he shared accompanied by a photo of the momentous occasion.
Atlanta Black Star caught up with Waytes.
He shared the lifetime perks Disney gave him and explained why he didn’t appreciate them until he became a father.
“It was my family’s first trip to Disney, and as a little kid I was very excited,” the Charlotte, North Carolina resident shares about the moment that would change everything.
“I immediately just ran through the gates and when I ran through the gates they just grabbed me,” he continued, noting that his dad was ready to come to his defense before the big moment happened.
”At that point, it was all this music, celebrations, fireworks and everything just started going off, and someone grabbed my family and ushered them off,” Waytes recalls of the moment that received coverage from multiple local news outlets — and even landed him a feature in Jet magazine.
A Disney executive presented Waytes with a plaque recognizing him as the park’s 200 millionth guest. He also explained the lifetime perks Waytes had won, though the 7-year-old didn’t fully understand their value at the time.
Disney told Waytes that becoming its 200 millionth guest earned him free access to every Disney park in the world for life. But at 7 years old, he says he didn’t fully grasp what that meant.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” he says.
It’s been decades since Waytes became a member of the special Disney club.
But like clockwork, he receives his lifetime pass and three guest passes every year.
However, his “pass is so unique” that sometimes Disney staff do a double-take.
They’ve never seen it up close and personal and have to “get their training manual” to confirm it.
The lifetime pass covers more than park admission. It also includes food, merchandise, and other purchases, a perk that has become especially valuable for the father of three.
Many people would use a lifetime Disney pass every chance they got. But Waytes says he rarely thought about it during college and much of his early adulthood.
”Within the last eight years, I’ve taken full benefit of the pass,” he says.
With the rising nationwide costs of everything nationwide, Waytes being a lifetime pass recipient is right on time.
“I didn’t really appreciate it until I got older and had kids. When I started seeing the price of Disney, and that my family gets in free, I was like ‘wow!”
Waytes and his wife Wilma share daughters Michaela, 16, Morgan, 14, and 6-year-old son Virgil “Trey” III.
With so many parks to choose from, Waytes says his favorite is the one closest to home. The Charlotte, North Carolina, resident picked EPCOT as his top Disney destination.
”The Epcot Center is actually my favorite. And the reason why is because of the food,” he shares. Then added that Tower of Terror is his favorite ride. “And the [cuisine] of the different countries [at Epcot], and I would say Magic Kingdom would be tied on the list, they run neck and neck.”
Waytes shares with ABS the best part of having the Disney lifetime pass, and it all comes down to family.
”Watching my kids have fun and knowing that I was blessed with this one thing they can always go to anytime they want and have fun,” the Omega Psi Phi member said.
“To watch the joy that they have, and it’s no stress on myself…on a whim I can just say, ‘Hey kids, let’s go to Disney’ and see that joy [and say, ‘you can get whatever you want,” he adds.
With summer travel season underway, ABS asked Waytes about his next Disney trip. The technical consultant said his family plans their Disney vacations well in advance, making 2026 a little too late to start planning.
”We’re planning for next year because my kids have activities they’re involved in, but we’ve been for Thanksgiving and Christmas before, which are great times to go, so we might do Thanksgiving and Christmas next year.”
Thirty-five years later, the once-confused 7-year-old has a much greater appreciation for the prize he won. What started as a random day at Disney has become a gift he now shares with his own family, creating memories that span generations.
