How A Disney World Superfan Made A Career Out Of Reviewing Theme Park Food

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When group inquire AJ Wolfe what she does for work, she usually conscionable says she’s a recreation writer aliases that she runs websites, because not galore group see being an master connected nan Disney taxable parks is simply a “real” job. 

“Unless you’ve traveled to Disney World and you … understand nan benignant of passion and dedication that group person for nan Disney parks, you don’t really understand that location would beryllium a full occupation successful this,” Wolfe said. “I’m beautiful judge that my mother-in-law still doesn’t really deliberation I person a job.”

When she was increasing up,  she fell successful emotion pinch nan parks aft her parents took her to Disney World each fewer years. She continued to sojourn nan parks erstwhile she was successful assemblage successful nan 1990s, either pinch friends aliases by herself. 

In nan early 2000s, she met her now-husband, and they started websites together arsenic a shared hobby. One of their websites, Disney Food Blog, became really popular.. 

At nan time, Disney World did not people menus for their restaurants, truthful moreover though taxable parkland visitors mightiness extremity up paying thousands of dollars connected food, they would not cognize what to expect. 

Wolfe would spell to Disney World erstwhile aliases doubly a period and effort arsenic overmuch nutrient arsenic imaginable — aggregate meals astatine arsenic galore arsenic 7 restaurants a day, “kind of for illustration Pokemon, for illustration collecting them all, making judge you had pictures of each nutrient point you perchance could astatine Disney World.” 

This was successful 2009, truthful it was earlier Instagram and an established civilization of nutrient influencers taking pictures of dishes. Wolfe carried a large integer camera astir taking pictures of much nutrient than 1 personification could perchance eat. 

“I sewage a batch of benignant of soiled looks from group — group not knowing what I was doing, reasoning I was being existent weird, which I was, and decidedly sewage comments from servers like, ‘are you judge you want that overmuch food? That’s a batch of food.'”

She would enactment successful nan parks from 8 a.m. to 11p.m., sometimes going to a barroom pinch dueling pianos to edit photos and constitute posts because it would thief her enactment awake.

When she was not successful nan parks, she wrote guides and planned early trips. At first, nan tract would people a fewer posts a week. Now they people 20 posts a day, pinch contributions from a squad of 50 people. They reappraisal food, but besides constitute guides, screen Disney news, and make videos for their YouTube channel, which has much than a cardinal subscribers. 

Wolfe said it is nan champion job, but it is still a job. And nan activity ne'er really stops, not moreover erstwhile her boy was calved 11 years ago. She recalled being successful nan infirmary aft she had fixed birth, and Disney World released nan menus for nan EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. She sewage retired her machine to activity connected a station astir nan caller menus, nan nurses came in, and she had to explicate why she was moving nan time aft giving birth. 

She recalled different hectic clip successful 2019, when Disneyland opened Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. 

“I deliberation I astir apt slept possibly an hr successful for illustration 2 days, and I would group my siren for 12 infinitesimal naps conscionable truthful that I could support going,” she said. “There are things for illustration that that are urgent, successful nan infinitesimal … You sewage to screen each of it arsenic quickly arsenic you perchance can.” 

The squad each activity remotely, and she tells her labor that moving for them is for illustration moving for a news statement — they should group their ain boundaries for activity life equilibrium but sometimes they will request to screen news astatine overseas times, specified arsenic when a ample animatronic dragon caught connected fire during a nighttime clip show.  

Wolfe said location person often been moments erstwhile she felt for illustration doing this activity is each excessively much, but truthful acold she has pushed done nan difficult times, and she still goes to nan parks for fun. 

“I still person a blast. And it’s moreover much nosy knowing that I don’t person to activity — that I tin benignant of unopen disconnected and not really attraction needfully what’s happening astir me, and alternatively conscionable bask my family, aliases my friends aliases whoever I’m location with,” she said. “I bask it moreover much than I utilized to because I’m capable to unopen disconnected and not person to devour everything that I’m seeing and process it.”