PART ONE which covered such losses as Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama, Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano, and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.
Today we are presenting PART TWO, and you may want to prepare yourself emotionally for this one because we are going to cover some subjects that are near and dear to people’s hearts. Let’s kick it off with a look back at a quick service pizza restaurant that ended up having a major impact on the lives of many people in the theme park community…
# 6 – PizzeRizzo (by Alicia Stella)

Walt Disney World has this special power to create spaces that someone will fall in love with. Sure, most everyone who frequents the theme parks has a favorite ride or attraction—or more broadly, a favorite theme park or land—places where you feel comforted just stepping in.
For many, memories of childhood rush in when walking into the foyer of The Haunted Mansion and breathing in the dusty scent that hasn’t changed in decades. Or taking in a whiff of the bromine scent-soaked walls of Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time in a long time.
We can’t always choose our happy places, but as fans of theme parks; fans of Walt Disney World specifically, we love to frequent these spots that feel like home.
I know it has become a bit of a joke over the years, and I do see how silly it is on its surface, but PizzeRizzo was my happy place.
There are of course quick service restaurants with better food than what you could find at PizzeRizzo… places like Satu’li Canteen. There are dining locations with better theming than PizzeRizzo, (like, well, almost all of them).
But it was where I felt at home.

With the permanent closure of PizzeRizzo, along with the rest of the former Muppets Courtyard area, I have spent several months searching my feelings.
Perhaps having the foreknowledge of its impending departure helped, as I was able to dine there a few (dozen) final times before it was too late.
Perhaps the sense that Disney is not about to waste a perfectly good pizza oven helps. Of course the incoming Monsters, Inc. land will undoubtedly retheme this particular establishment into a third iteration of a pizza place, right?
Or maybe the reason that I am at peace with this loss more than others, is just how beautiful my memories of PizzeRizzo really are.
What started as a place to get out of the sun, into some AC, to find a quiet spot to write a blog post on my phone one afternoon, became a personal hideaway in the first couple years since PizzeRizzo’s grand opening.
I have written in some detail on this very blog about what I liked about PizzeRizzo, when it was still in my life. I spoke of its ambiance, its ample seating, the (light) Muppet theming, and scattered Easter eggs. I talked up its food, (which like it or hate it, was in fact mostly edible and not the *worst* pizza at Disney).
But in the latter half of PizzeRizzo’s brief time on this planet, my relationship with it had changed, evolved, and I saw my love of this silly little Italian-joint-themed place become more than just a place to get out of the sun.
It became a place of joy. It became a place of community.

Sporadically in 2022 and 2023 I invited a few friends to join me at my booth upstairs, with the red and white checkered tablecloth-design emboldened on it, so we could record a podcast while we dine.
The “PizzeRizzo Podcast Hour” was essentially a joke that also was a real episode of my actual podcast. Sure, we are at PizzeRizzo, and isn’t that silly? But it was also a conversation that my friend and I would have probably been talking about that day anyway, except we recorded it.
Those little slices of life are now forever enshrined for future generations to hear. You too can listen as we ramble on about the theme park news of the day and discuss hot takes on rumors I no longer remember, in between bites of pizza that was mostly crust and soggy Caesar salads, while schmaltzy Italian music bellows in the background.
My quiet respite and fortress of solitude had expanded a little, letting in a little bit of light. This was now a meeting place for my friends, and the podcast episodes were the perfect excuse to lure them there, (sometimes against their will).
I had always asked newbies to rate the PizzeRizzo pizza at the end of our meal, with answers often ranging all the way from “not as bad I was expecting” to “I could probably eat this again.”
PizzeRizzo Prom Invite. (created by @melschnef)
Cut to 2025, and we all know that PizzeRizzo is going away. I’m sad, but also encouraged to dine here a few more times. Invite a few more friends. One last time.
When I saw a post on social media about a “PizzeRizzo Prom,” to take place within the Deluxe Supreme Banquet Hall, I knew this was going to be my last hurrah.
I will never stop saying thank you to Mel and Taryn for organizing the prom. My real high school prom didn’t really foster the best memories for me, and seeing now an opportunity to rebuild my prom experience from the ground up, in my happy place, was perhaps a dream come true.
The Banquet Hall was an addition that Rizzo installed when he transformed the former Pizza Planet quick service restaurant into PizzeRizzo. This additional seating area was perpetually stuck in party mode—with a dance floor, disco ball, and never-ending jams, mostly from the 90s.
And we filled it with nearly 100 hardcore Muppets fans for one final farewell before they tore the place down.
I spent weeks searching for the perfect prom dress, eventually finding a gorgeous two-tone metallic shiny dress that changed colors in the light. Floor length. It was fancy. This wasn’t just my new prom. This was PizzeRizzo’s funeral.
We all showed up that day in early February dressed to the nines. In our tuxes and gowns. Our best Muppets themed garments. Some of us dressed as servers for PizzeRizzo, or Rizzo himself, and for one person, as the Banquet Hall itself!
The three happiest days of my life have been my wedding day, the birth of my child, and the PizzeRizzo Prom.
PizzeRizzo Prom. (photo by /WRHStudios)
Just a few months later I would be back, for PizzeRizzo’s last supper.
Muppet*Vision 3D, PizzeRizzo, and the whole former Muppets Courtyard area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios closed permanently on June 8, 2025. Thousands of us showed up June 7th to say goodbye.
I was in my black dress on this day. But it never felt like a funeral. More like a celebration of life.
We sat in the biggest booth upstairs, at the back of the room. And while I sat there in the center of good friends, dining on my last PizzeRizzo cannoli with old Italian music playing around us, I couldn’t help but feel like some sort of mob boss, looking out over my domain. One last time.
Strangers came to the table to pay their respects. Apologized for my loss.
And I mean this with sincerity, because as silly as it sounds, this building was more than just reheated frozen personal pan pizzas and cups of soggy Caesar salads. It was a part of me. Everyone who knows me knows it is a part of me.
We took our last photos, munched our last Rizzos, and saw our last Muppet*Vision. The standing ovation was so loud no one could hear the final lines of the show.
But time moves on.
My last meal at PizzeRizzo. June 7th, 2025.
Of course I am sad to see PizzeRizzo go. But I will always have my memories. And they include some of the greatest theme park memories I have experienced.
I have a framed award declaring me PizzeRizzo’s Biggest Fan on my wall, a gift from the PizzeRizzo Prom Committee. I have the photo from our last supper on my shelf next to a plush Rizzo doll. I have a scale model of the façade for PizzeRizzo on my desk, lovingly crafted by Cremated Plastic, (which really lights up)!
Holding a light up PizzeRizzo sign from Amusement Labs on Etsy.
I will always have so much of PizzeRizzo left in my heart, (and I don’t just mean the lodged pepperoni grease).
But also, I am hopeful. I am optimistic that a still yet-to-be announced replacement for this particular dining establishment could offer future happy memories as well.
Perhaps Monstropolis will offer the best Pizza on the Planet once more. Perhaps it was never The Riz that held the magic, but the community I shared my time with while there.
A Deluxe Supreme Banquet Hall without friends, is just a disco ball spinning in an empty room for no one.
PizzeRizzo tables available to purchase at the Lakeland Antique Mall after the restaurant had closed.
# 5 – Muppet*Vision 3D
PizzeRizzo wasn’t the only thing Muppet related thing we lost at DHS this year as the entire Muppet Courtyard was closed down. This means no more Miss Piggy “Lady Liberty” Fountain…
Miss Piggy fountain in Muppet Courtyard. (photo by Brandon Glover)
…no more Gonzo’s Royal Flush bathrooms…
Gonzo’s Royal Flush. (photo by @Diservations)
…but most importantly, no more Muppet*Vision 3D. Shortly after it closed, we did an entire SAT SIX dedicated to what I would consider to be one of the most important attractions in any Disney theme park. You can read that tribute by CLICKING HERE and it covers everything that was amazing about the attraction and why it was so special.

I thought that I loved Muppet*Vision 3D, but it turns out I only liked, because many other fans did everything in their power to try and convince Disney to keep the attraction open. One of those fans was @TheMouseAndMore, who physically mailed out 28 letters a day – every single day, for  3 months – along with daily emails and phone calls to Disney management in an effort to get them to change their mind on transforming Muppet Courtyard into an area themed to Pixar’s Monster’s Inc.
Letters to Disney written by @TheMouseAndMore.
TheMouseAndMore was one of many who tried their best to convince Disney of keeping Muppet*Vision 3D – a lasting legacy of Jim Henson and the joy he brought to the world – inside DHS, but as we all know now it was to no avail. Who better to give their thoughts about what Muppet*Vision meant to them?
@TheMouseAndMore: How does one measure the impact a theme park attraction makes on someone? Can we quantify why these places mean so much to us that when the closing announcement happens we proceed to go into mourning and being zapped of all energy? When it comes to MuppetVision 3D, myself and many others experienced just that this year.
2025 brought the end of the Greatest non-ride Disney attraction in history * (based on my informal opinion), a relic of a bygone era of Hollywood that combined every theme park trick in the book: in-theater effects like water and bubbles, Audio Animatronics, a real Live Muppet! music, fireworks and the best preshow…ever. All to be lost to the monsters of Monstropolis. Farewell to our felt friends, who always made us laugh, provided 20 minutes of much needed A/C, and never failed to stoop to any cheap 3D tricks. Hopefully someday soon we will meet again and this separation won’t be FOREVER (Gonzo voice.)
“I told Heather Henson that her dad is the reason why I laugh and try to make people laugh…all while I was crying. She said “well that’s why I’m here” (photo by @TheMouseAndMore)
# 4 – Imagineer Eddie Sotto
One thing that is absolutely amazing about social media is that it has allowed theme park fans like you and me to be able to interact and learn from current and former members of Disney and Universal Creative. Growing up, my only knowledge of the people who actually created the theme parks was through the Walt Disney  television specials, where I would see Imagineers like Marc Davis, Mary Blair, and Marty Sklar talk about the attractions. The list started to grow in the 1990s and early 2000s as technology made it easier to film and release more behind-the-scenes looks and it was there where I was introduced to people like Tony Baxter, Joe Rohde, and Kevin Rafferty.
Today, thanks to social media platforms, not only can I learn valuable insight from people who worked on designing theme parks, I can actually interact with them in real time. One of my personal favorite people to follow on social media was former Imagineer Eddie Sotto.
I remember when Mr. Sotto posted a story about how he created a scale model of Disneyland as a kid and it just completely blew my mind.

Disneyland 1/200 Scale Model. (created by Eddie Sotto)
Look at that attention to detail. Are you kidding me?! Li’l Sotto was building this stuff from scratch back in the early ’70s and I wouldn’t be able to come close to recreating something like this TODAY given all the advantages we have in terms of access to supplies. I feel like the engineer in the first Iron Man film who gets dressed down after he couldn’t recreate something that Tony Stark made “in a cave, using a box of scraps!”
Disneyland 1/200 Scale Model. (created by Eddie Sotto)
Sotto said that he was trying to show WED (the former name of Walt Disney Imagineering) that he could be taken seriously at age 13.

While he wasn’t hired by Disney as a teenager, Sotto eventually cut his teeth working for Six Flags.
“1983. Knotts gave me an opportunity beyond the drawing board to learn scenic “aging”, buy and arrange props in the field, design graphics, and more. A cheap but complete vision. Having “No budget” can provide a great classroom! Thanks Knotts!” – Eddie Sotto
Sotto’s work at Six Flags eventually got him an offer by Imagineer Tony Baxter to come work for Disney and he went on to design and create masterworks at Disney Parks across the globe. Sotto’s most notable creation is Main Street USA at Disneyland Paris, widely regarded as the greatest Main Street in any Disney park.
“I was hired at WED a week before they changed the name to WDI! A real nail biter!” – Eddie Sotto
Len Testa – I’d met Eddie before this year, but 2025 is when a mutual friend put us in a chat group to talk about the parks.
Eddie was in good spirits right up to the end – we’d texted just days before he passed. Eddie was still interested in doing more design work for Disney. I signed an NDA so I can’t tell you what was the thing that we were talking about, but it’s an item Eddie designed for guests to use in certain parts of the parks.
Eddie was really proud of it, too, because he designed and built the items himself. In fact, Eddie asked me to grab a photo of one of them in the parks, and when I went to do it I found out that the thing he made is now not left out for guests, because they kept getting stolen – there’s one left in the location I was at. And that’s remarkable because (1) it’s not small; and (2) the place where they’re located is surrounded by Cast Members.
I can say that the item is mostly metal and glass, and Eddie fabricated the metal parts through a “lost wax” casting process, making each one of the items unique. The glass, Eddie said, couldn’t be sourced from Asia so Eddie – and he mentioned this in so casual a way that it was actually impressive – said he knew a glassblower in Los Angeles who he could work with for the item. Which is the kind of thing you want to hear from Imagineers, and is one of the reasons why Eddie’s work ranks among WDI’s all-time best. He was a smart, dedicated, talented, and generous guy. Eddie will be missed.

# 3 – Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America
As a lifelong fan of theme parks, one of the most amazing things I have noticed over the past few years is that Universal seems to be trying to make itself more like the Disney parks of old whereas Disney is trying to make itself more like the Universal of today.
What I mean by that is I grew up with the opening of EPCOT Center, Disney/MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom. While Disney/MGM was a straight up knock-off of what Universal had planned for their first park in Florida, EPCOT and Animal Kingdom were parks that no other company in the world could create. Lately, Disney seems to be trying to turn all three of those parks into what I like to call Universal Studios Buena Vista, filled with nothing but attractions themed to the latest and greatest IP.
For the most part, Disney’s Magic Kingdom was sacred ground. Yes, there had been some changes over the years, and rightly so since the theme parks aren’t museums, but the “core” of the park has always remained. In 2025 Magic Kingdom still has Tomorrowland Speedway, Haunted Mansion, its a small world, Jungle Cruise and many other “outdated” attractions that have been running for over 50 years! That’s not how Universal does things. Universal Studios Florida has been open for only 35 years and only has a single opening day ride still running: E.T. Adventure. Everything else has been bulldozed and replaced with something more current.
Over the last decade, Universal has closed the gap on Disney in almost every conceivable area. With dark rides such as Monsters Unchained, thrill rides like the VelociCoaster, and stunt shows like the Bourne Stuntacular, Universal has shown they can compete – and even beat – Disney in just about anything. However, Universal does not…and will never… have anything like Tom Sawyer island and the Rivers of America.
Tom Sawyer Island and (part of) the Rivers of America. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
Disney’s Magic Kingdom was designed and built during a different time. A time when not every square inch of a park was created to maximize ROI (return on investment.) Tom Sawyer island had no gift shop, and its only restaurant (Aunt Polly’s quick service) was almost never open for the last two decades. The area’s sole existence was to entertain guests and give them an experience they couldn’t get anywhere else.

Tom Sawyer Island was based on an IP, and there were certainly references for anyone familiar with Mark Twain’s book or any of the television/film versions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Tom Sawyer Island. (photo by Brandon Glover)
Tom Sawyer Island. (photo by Brandon Glover)
When we mourned the loss of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth back in 2019, one of the things that stung was the realization that Disney will never make a show like this again. The same holds true for an attraction like Tom Sawyer Island: The barrel bridge? Guns? Native American encampments? There is just no way elements like these make it past theme park bureaucracy in the 21st Century.
Tom Sawyer Island. (photo by Brandon Glover)
Fort Langhorn on Tom Sawyer Island.
Tom Sawyer Island. (photo by SonderQuest)
The amount of theme park real estate that Tom Sawyer and the Rivers of America took up can only be truly appreciated through a bird’s eye view from @bioreconstruct. This is the type of space that Disney’s competitors could only dream about having.
The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
While Disney may not build anything quickly, they do remove stuff incredibly fast. One day Tom Sawyer Island and the Rivers of America were seen on the Magic Kingdom map…

…and the next day they were gone, as if they had never existed.

The water was drained and the structures like Fort Langhorn were torn down.
Aerial look at the former Rivers of America in Magic Kingdom. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
And ultimately it’s going to be a literal case of “They paved over paradise to put in a parking lot,” because Rivers of America is being replaced with Piston Peak from Pixar’s Cars universe.
Tom Sawyer Island the Rivers of America gone. (photo by @bioreconstruct)
# 2 – Liberty Belle
Sitting on the Rivers of America was the iconic Liberty Square Riverboat, named the Liberty Belle.
Liberty Belle. (photo by Diservations)
The ride began as its captain, Horace Bixby, welcomed guests aboard. Bixby introduced his pilot, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and let you know you’re in good hands, since this was Clemens’ 100th trip piloting the Liberty Belle. You departed from the dock and navigated the winding “river.”
Liberty Belle. (photo by Diservations)
Along the way, you got views of the Magic Kingdom you just couldn’t get anywhere else. You saw Tom Sawyer Island, Harper’s Mill, and Fort Langhorn from a new vantage point. Other sights from the American frontier include settler’s cabins, old mining paraphernalia, a Native American village, and even animatronic wildlife.
Native American camp as seen from the Liberty Belle. (photo by Brandon Glover)
The riverboat also offered unique perspectives of the Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. From the top deck especially, you saw Frontierland and Liberty Square in a whole new way.
Liberty Belle. (photo by Diservations)
Liberty Belle (photo by @Imagineer2017)
One of the true “best kept secrets” at Walt Disney World was that guests could become Riverboat pilots.
Ivonne Ramos piloting the Liberty Belle.
Your Riverboat Pilot’s license was signed by none other than Mickey Mouse himself!
Pilot certificate. (photo by Brandon Glover)
Interestingly enough, earlier this year Eddie Sotto posted some thoughts on how Disney could have possibly done things differently and given us that classic Michael Scott win-win-win scenario we love so much in the theme park world.

#1 – Adam the Woo
“Join me shall you?”
The theme park community was rocked on December 22nd when it was announced that YouTube personality Adam Williams, AKA Adam the Woo, had passed away.
Adam the Woo was not just instrumental in the rise of theme park vlogging…NAY NAY… he was the undisputed pioneer of recording video inside our favorite parks and posting it to the masses. Adam’s voice became a type of comfort food for many, as his pleasant demeanor and ability to vlog about pretty much anything and everything (even going daily!!) drew a large fanbase. Very few people can ever be considered a legend in their own time, but if anything Adam was even more than that. Adam’s legacy will outlive us all, and we reached out to several of Adam’s friends in the community to share their thoughts.

“A piping hot caffeinated beverage.”
Leonard Kinsey (author of The Dark Side of Disney) – Years ago, I sat in awe watching Adam The Woo edit our day’s adventures on his iPhone, making silly noises and songs to go over his montages, and thinking, “This guy is one of a kind, and it’s brilliant.” He somehow wrapped up Tom Green, Pee Wee Herman, and Michael J Fox into a funny, charming, weird new package that was fully unique to him. I loved it, and it turns out a lot of other people loved it, too.
From L-R: Nomeus, Adam the Woo, and Leonard Kinsey.
And while that big personality was a genuine part of who he was as a person, I’ll never forget the night during his Large Marge days when we sat in my backyard, staring at the stars, and talked about some heavy shit. Relationships.. life goals… past regrets… Adam was a lot deeper than he usually appeared on camera, and I admired that about him. But I think it was also draining for him to have to be “on” as much as he was. While he certainly had a larger-than-life public persona, in private he could be quiet, contemplative, emotional… I’m going to miss the big outside guy, but I’m going to miss the introverted inside guy even more.
I have so much more to say about him. So many stories. Things we shared that only a few people in the world have experienced. For now I’ll keep those to myself. He certainly left a legacy behind. I hope he’s found his peace, and I’m keeping his family in my thoughts.

“Hitchcock would be proud.”
Josh Bailey (director of Stolen Kingdom) – I didn’t realize it until his passing, but I started watching Adam’s videos 15 years ago. That’s half of my entire life. I was a young kid fascinated by urban exploring, and Adam quickly became someone I wanted to grow up to be like. For better or for worse he deepened my fascination with abandoned places, and most importantly, opened my eyes to a community of people that listened to punk rock, had tattoos, but also liked Disney.
When I moved to Orlando at 18 to work at Disney, I happened to meet Adam while I was alone at a Spooky Empire event. He approached ME. At this point I had tattoos and we chatted about them, and realized we had a lot in common in spite of being 21 years apart in age. I think it was the mutual friends we had in the hardcore scene that really made him respect me. Every time he saw me out at a theme park after that we would go out of his way to come over and talk to me.
8 or 9 years passed without interacting, and I was well into my journey making Stolen Kingdom, an entire feature film about urban exploring at Disney, and I knew I had to have a conversation with Adam. This was a complicated subject for him at this point, and I wanted to respect that but knew it would be disingenuous to not include him in the film. One random day in Celebration I’m working remotely from the Starbucks he would frequent and lo and behold, Adam walks in to get his piping hot caffeinated beverage.
I’m thinking, “Oh god, I need to talk to him. Will he remember me?” Adam walks out, locks eyes with me, and stops dead in his tracks. I’m not sure if it’s because he remembers me from almost 10 years ago, or if he knows I’M the guy making that movie he probably doesn’t want to be in. I go “Adam!” and invite him over to me. We had a really nice conversation about the film. I got to tell him about Brendan Canty (drummer of the band Fugazi) doing the score, and he really got a kick when I told him the reactions of some Hollywood producers who had watched a cut of the film. Like I thought, Adam declined to be on camera, but he didn’t forbid me from using his footage. At the end of the conversation he started to walk away but then stopped, turned back around and said, “do I know you from the punk scene?”
I started to explain how we met, our mutual friends in the Orlando scene, and I could see the lightbulb going off in his head. I look VERY different at this point than I did at 18. My hair is a different color, I have a mustache, and I wear glasses every day, but in spite of all that, he remembered. I owe a lot to Adam. If it weren’t for him, I’m not sure Matt Sonswa and Patrick Spikes would’ve been inspired to film videos urban exploring at Disney, and I wouldn’t have pursued the topic as my first feature film. I know a lot of people know Adam as this wholesome, Disney loving guy, which he always was, but I will always remember him as that central Florida punk rocker who opened so many people’s eyes to abandoned places.

“There goes the monorail.”
DeShawn Warr – I find that even by writing this, it doesn’t seem real and I stayed up probably a lot later than I should. I don’t think it’s going to get any easier or better, but we learned on December 22nd that Adam the Woo passed away and it was sudden.
It was so incredibly sudden and I’m not sure how to put into words how I feel because there comes a point where you question how many people love you and care for you. The irony is you never really learn that until after you pass away, and that’s the sad part.
I have known Adam since 2017 and I had already been watching him for a very long time before that. Adam was my first exposure to the world of content creation on YouTube. I remember watching him and wanting to do that type of content.
I remember meeting Adam for the first time out at Disneyland and that was such a special moment to me. Adam was so welcoming and we became fast friends. Even though I had just met him, he really made it feel like we had known each other forever. But if you followed him for a while on YouTube, you knew him way more than he knew you.
Throughout the following years we would meet and we would talk. You know it’s those moments that I treasure the most, where we would have the cameras down and we would just talk. You know what I mean? It allowed me to learn who he was and what he was about. Even though it had been years since we had been together, and there was some serious water under the bridge during that time,  he still had the grace to welcome me and it was almost like our friendship never stopped. That’s admirable to me and when we meet again one day I’ll be sure to tell him that.
Adam didn’t operate in this current world of genre. There was no genre! It was just Adam. Whatever he did on YouTube is what he did on his own terms. If he wanted to make Disney content, he made Disney content. If he wanted to make roadside attraction content, he did. He wasn’t bound by anything or put himself in a box that many creators today do for clicks and views. Adam made content for Adam. We were just along for the ride.
That was one of the most important lessons I learned from it. He made videos for himself and that’s the most important thing. As a Content Creator you should do things for you. Don’t do it for everybody else or try to catch some imaginary dangling carrot. Do it for you. It should always be for you first. If it makes you happy, do it. Naysayers will always critique and say things like “I don’t know why somebody always likes going to Disney.” Adam loved going to Disney and that’s the point. Eventually the naysayers find something else to complain about.
I don’t know what more I can say, but I love you Adam, I love you man. I hated to see you go and I always looked forward to just running to you at a theme park or running into you somewhere random as we always did and now I don’t…I don’t get to do that. I don’t get to see you anymore and that sucks. I wish I had more time to tell you how much you meant to me. You took a struggling man and helped him find a purpose in life.
In true Adam fashion, I am currently sitting at the children’s museum in Lakeland getting to watch my daughter play and I think these are the moments that we take for granted. We rarely take the time to treasure these moments of quiet observation. We’re always on the go. We’re always stressed. We’re always worried about money, or worried about our survival, or worried about this job that we hate. We’re worried about so many different things and I think the beauty and the biggest lessons you can take from Adam is none of that stuff even matters.
It doesn’t matter because you can’t take it with you. At the end of the day it isn’t the job, the money, or the views on YouTube that make you happy, its the moments that you can actually sit and enjoy the experience of the love that surrounds us.  I think that’s why Adam really enjoyed going to Disney, because he was surrounded by peace there, surrounded by love and surrounded by so many people who are bound by love.
I love you Adam and thank you for the time. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for your friendship. I wish everyone saw you the way I saw you and I think many of them do and I’m going to miss you forever.
Deshawn with Adam.
“Beehive of activity.”
Josh from Diservations: Every time I visit the Universal Kids Resort construction site, I think the same thing: “this is a real beehive of activity.” It’s an Adam the Woo line that’s been living in my head for years.
A friend texted me the night it happened to say that Adam had died. That didn’t sound right, so I checked. I wish I hadn’t. His father confirmed it. Then Justin Scarred posted, and that’s when it sank in.
I didn’t know Adam personally, but I did meet him at EPCOT a few years ago. My family and I were eating at Connections when he walked past the window. I told my wife and son I was going to say hi. They’re shy, so they kept eating their truffle fries.
It was a brief encounter, maybe 30 seconds, but Adam was exactly how he came across on camera. Friendly. Cool. The same guy we all watched braving janky carnival rides with The Tim Tracker, quoting the Old Prospector on Big Thunder, or visiting filming locations from the movies he (and I) grew up with.
I hope Adam is enjoying all the piping-hot caffeinated beverages wherever he’s exploring now.
Adam at left with me on far right. (photo by Josh from Diservations)
“Are those petunias?”
Brandon Glover – When people hear the name Adam The Woo, it provokes thoughts of exciting adventures backed by a catchy, electric theme song. His internet reach was so vast, that I received a call one day from my father, asking: “have you ever heard of this Adam The Woo guy? He has a lot of cool videos on YouTube!” To which I replied: “Dad, I’m in a couple of them.”
I first met Adam around the time when I began my photography journey with TouringPlans. Adam was always genuinely kind and gracious to his fans. His love for the history of the parks and fascination with the inner workings of the rides was on full display when we rode Snow White’s Scary Adventures on its final day of operation. On one of our many ride-throughs that evening, Adam had a flashlight in-hand, pointing out hidden ladders and small effects like a tour guide showing off his favorite points of interest. Watching his attention to details taught a valuable lesson in paying attention to the smaller details in rides and shows for my photography.
I spent quite a few memorable days with Adam in the parks, but the thing I’ll remember most is how he would check in with encouraging words, especially after completing some of the RunDisney races. He was kind, he was selfless, and he was generous with his time: three traits I hope that I can live up to and pay forward.
Adam, you were an inspiration to many, and those that were able to spend any length of time with you were positively impacted. You made everyone around you feel welcomed and important, in the jovial, Woo way.
Adam in the front row of Snow White’s Scary Adventures with Brandon Glover directly behind him.
“That’s it for today. The vlog is over.”
Derek Burgan – Our end of year In Memoriam series always lands around Christmas time, which is appropriate because that is when I’m reminded of one of my all time favorite movies, It’s a Wonderful Life. The world we currently live in is busier than ever, has social media companies deliberately trying to sow division between us, and can be utterly heartbreaking. So much so that its easy for each and every one of us to fall into the trap that George Bailey did in It’s a Wonderful Life, and not see the Bigger Picture.
Like George Bailey, Adam the Woo had a tremendous impact on an immeasurable amount of people. His family, his friends, his colleagues, the fans he met in the parks, and the millions of people across the globe who knew him only from his videos. Adam brought smiles and comfort to those who desperately needed it, and inspired countless others. Even something as simple as showing people you can enjoy the parks as a solo traveler makes a difference in a world in which we are reminded in every advertisement about everything being a “family vacation.”
Adam will be missed, but he will also continue to live on in each and every one of us that he affected and hopefully we can live up to lessons he was teaching us the entire time.
Psalm 34:18  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
“Rest in peace, Adam. Thank you for being there for everyone who needed you.” – Darren Schmidt
Ghosts of In Memoriam Past:

2025 Part 1 (Rip Ride Rockit, Dino-Rama)
2024 (Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade, FastPass+)
2023 (Harmonious, Splash Mountain, Starcruiser)
2022 (KiteTails, Shrek 4D, Josh easyWDW)
2021 (NBA Experience, SotMK, Must Do Disney)
2020 (Rivers of Light, Primeval Whirl, The Void)
2019 (Burudika, Mizner’s Lounge, IllumiNations)
2018 (Emeril’s at CityWalk, Eighth Voyage of Sindbad, Richard Gerth)
2017 (Dragon Challenge, Great Movie Ride, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure)
2016 (Osborne Lights, Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue, Lights, Motors, Action!)
2015 (Twister…Ride It Out! Mulch, Sweat, and Shears, Disaster!)
2014 (Camp Minnie-Mickey, The Giggle Gang, Push the Trashcan

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