I wasn't even born when my love for Disney began. My mother, pregnant with me, walked around the Magic Kingdom in Florida to give me the grand tour of the wonderful place that would eventually hold my heart and imagination hostage. She swears that I was born with the "It's a Small World" theme music in my mind.

I decided to get involved with a fan based website and podcast called Inside the Magic. Shortly thereafter, I started a technology segment called "Behind the Magic". Mark Pearce, in Minnesota, was already producing a segment in the podcast called "Inside Disney History". Mark asked me if I'd like to work on a segment together mixing history and technology and "Backstage Pass" was created.

I decided that I wanted to start my very own fan based forum to include information that I enjoy and hoped others would as well. Desktop Disney was born and acted as an outlet for my Disney enthusiasm. News, tips, park information, audio, video, Backstage Pass segments, and photos were the offerings. Months after I had created Desktop Disney, I decided to change the name to remove the "Disney" reference. I didn't want to have any legal problems down the road so "Keys to the Magic" was born. The Desktop Disney Forum content was moved to the new URL and Keys to the Magic still grows everyday. The forum was created first and the website interface followed.

Geoff, whom I met through the Backstage Pass segments, has been a great friend and co-host on the Desktop Disney and Keys to the Magic Forums. He's assisted me with information, decisions and content, with nothing more than positive thoughts and energy. Geoff was member #2 and hasn't stopped believing in our efforts.

My wife, Joann, has been very supportive in my sometimes "overwhelming" hobby. Hours in front of the computer, time away from her in the evening, and even some very frustrating moments when I'd lose a lot of information with one wrong click of the mouse. Thank you Joann.

To my Mother and Father - Thank you for introducing me to the Wonderful World of Disney as a child and for making the opportunities available for us to visit the theme parks as much as we did.

My love for Disney goes way back - living in the United Kingdom, I had always wanted to visit this wondrous and magic place that existed "across the pond" but it wasn't until 1992 when I was 41 years old that I achieved my ambition and spent two weeks in the Kingdom of the Mouse. I've been going back ever since.

My favourite all time visit at WDW was a backstage tour where much of the magic was revealed - meeting Minnie Mouse in the utilidors out of costume (I recognized the shoes) was a great highlight. In my spare time (I work for London Underground -the "tube") I can also be found editing and dubbing the videos of my vacations. Like Jay, I am also a lover of steam trains - I've actually been the driver (engineer) on one - a fantastic experience - so you can imagine the conversations that the two of us have.

I came to Keys to the Magic via a circuitous route. I was listening to several Disney podcasts via my newly acquired iPod but was drawn to one in particular. A guy named Jay and his friend Mark produced the most remarkable segments for a popular podcast called Backstage Pass. (The "Tinker Bell" segment is my all time favourite - much to Jay's chagrin.) I became a great fan and emailed the two entertainers. Soon I was chatting on a regular basis with Jay via emails and it was he who invited me to become a part of "Desktop Disney" as it was originally entitled. I started writing articles and putting up news items and began a series looking at how rides are conceived and then constructed called Disney Designs. I love researching the history and finding artwork and photographs for articles and as I go along I learn more and more about all things Disney.

I hold one share in the Walt Disney Company so feel I do actually own a little part of the place. My partner, Darrin, and I are also Disney Vacation Club members. We also have an anniversary "tile" in the Walk around the World. It's located right outside the Transportation & Ticket Center! I feel privileged to be part of Keys to the Magic and hope we can go from strength to strength sharing our mutual love for Disney.