Hello there, my name is Nick, and thanks for visiting my (mostly) theme park blog. I’m 28 years old and a central Florida resident since 2020. I’ve been traveling to Disney, Universal, and other parks ever since I can remember. Most of my childhood was spent in Charlotte, NC, and before that a Chicago suburb, until I was 6 years old. My parents met while on the opening team for Disney’s Grand Floridian Beach Resort in 1988, before moving to Chicago after their time at Disney. Walt Disney World was always a special destination for them, and eventually for my sister and I when we came along. Traveling down to all the central Florida attractions was an annual, if not semiannual tradition. Living in Chicago and Charlotte also opened my eyes to regional parks like Six Flags Great America, Carowinds, and occasionally Dollywood, I believe it was in those parks that my love of rollercoasters was born. Then when Carowinds transformed into SCarowinds every fall I began to fall in love with haunts. Now, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios occupies my headspace pretty much year round.
I am traditionally quite a homebody, always willing to rot on the couch next to my Husky, Koda, for an entire day watching movies and YouTube videos. If a theme park doesn’t get me out of the house, a trip to the AMC theater at Disney Springs might. I love catching new releases and using my A-List to see a handful of movies each month. I also try to make a habit of running a few days a week, mostly motivated by the runDisney events and the Universal Run Club. I have the 2023 runDisney Wine & Dine Challenge to thank for creating that habit, I just had to have that Figment medal!
I also intend for The “Park” Side to be all encompassing, including my first love, baseball. Now that I live here in an MLB Spring Training hub, MiLB hub, and close to the Tampa Bay Rays, I go to ballparks as often as I can. I am a born and bred, die hard, loyal to a fault Chicago White Sox fan, but baseball is baseball and I’ll go watch any team in any ballpark just for the sights and sounds of the game. I enjoy the excitement around the upcoming season every February and March, when half of the MLB rolls into Central Florida. Then when the Minor League teams start playing I can’t get enough of the cheap seats and variety of stadiums around here. I have a goal to visit every MLB stadium in my lifetime. I am currently at 8, with a multitude of other MiLB and Spring Training venues under my belt. The only other sport I can say I follow is the NFL, where the Chicago Bears usually break my heart, but as of late they’ve given me quite a bit to cheer for and be excited about!
The Park Side 