Patricia “Patt” Haro is a member of the Colton Joint Unified Board of Education, but one thing most wouldn’t know about her beyond her community service is that she is actually a big Disney fan.
Maybe the biggest.
Patt has always been a Disney lover, since her first time visiting the park as a little girl from East L.A..
She was amazed when she first saw the huge Disney castle for the first time, and it still holds a special place in her heart.
“It came to life,” she said about that first experience. “I know a lot of people look at Disneyland’s castle and think ‘That’s it, it’s so small.’ But when you’re a small child and you see that castle, it’s not a small castle. It’s a big deal. And you know, it’s still magical to me.”
With her annual Magic Key passport, every Sunday you can find Patt at Disneyland with her husband, Richard. They dress up in creative outfits inspired by Disney movies or the park to bring smiles and better experiences for people at Disney. She often posts photos of their adventures on her Instagram and Facebook accounts.
The outfits she sews herself. One of her favorite moments was when her daughter asked her to sew an item for her to wear to the park one day with them.
While the list of things she loves about Disneyland is long, she did note one more thing. “The food is beyond magical.” Richard agrees, sharing that the service is “top tier.”
Patt’s love for the Magic Kingdom doesn’t just begin and end with the park and her own family, however. She also wants to share that love with others. Aside from working for the district, Haro is a personal travel planner for Disney vacations, where she helps people book vacations at the theme parks, cruises, and even their Hawaiian resort.
While her own personal fun is part of the allure of going to Disneyland, over the years Patt has found an even more important reason to keep going: an adopted family.
Patt has made many connections with many Disney employees. She and Richard are on a first name basis with pretty much every photographer at the park, as well as a large array of other employees.
“A lot of these cast members,” Patt shared, “they’ll keep in touch with us.”
One story Patt shared was about her friendship with a cast member she met five years ago on a Disney Cruise who worked in the gift shop.The woman was from Ukraine and during each three month break between cruises, she would travel back home to Ukraine to visit her mother, who takes care of her son so she can work. Even with the war going on, she has to make sure her family is okay and has enough money to survive.
“She said they had gone for quite some time without eating and heat,” Patt said about the challenges her friend faced. “She keeps in touch with us on Facebook Messenger and lets us know how they’re doing.”
Patt sees people from Disney as more than just people; they are her extended family.
She takes the time to know her friends on a personal level and develop connections like no other.
“It’s the magic of the people,” she said. That’s what keeps her going back week after week to the Magic Kingdom.
