| He looked like a jester, but he really was her prince... Orange County Register 25 January 1994 |
| Working as an operator on the Storybook Land canal boats at Disneyland, Bethanie Marie Weber thought she had little left to learn when it came to fairy-tale endings. That is, until a mysterious court jester danced his way into her heart in December 1991. Beth and John Edward Rayburn had worked at Disneyland for years before they were introduced at a party in December 1992. Beth recalls that as part of her duties as a ride operator on the Storybook Land attraction, she would help direct pedestrian traffic during the annual Christmas parade. It was while directing guests two years ago that the Sleeping Beauty float rolled past. Atop the float was John - dressed as a court jester. "He was waving at me, jumping up and down; it would have been hard not to notice. I looked around to see if there could be anyone else that was getting that kind of attention and realized it was directed at me," Beth said. |
| For the rest of the parade season, John would always go out of his way to spot Beth in the crowd and get her attention. "I used to try to embarrass her," John admitted. "I remember the only time I actually said anything to her was to wish her a Merry Christmas." In fact, for most of the month that he rolled past, John had a piece of paper with his telephone number tucked beneath his cap. Yet he never found a good opportunity to come down from his float and give it to her. Their story didn't end just because they were unable to meet at the Anaheim theme park. The attraction was reignited by fate a year later when Beth was performing in a play at Newport Theatre Arts Center. "One of the other girls in the cast had been a parade dancer at Disneyland. She used to talk about her brother quite a bit - seems he still did parades," Beth recalled. "One night she came up to me in the dressing room and said 'My brother thinks he knows you.'" Julie Rayburn was right; her brother did know Beth. John and Beth were finally introduced at a cast party at Julie's place...that she happened to share with her brother. "I turned around and there was John standing on the stairs. We talked for hours: everyone else in the room was gone," Beth said. The two found it easy to talk and discovered they had several common interests, particularly the performing arts. |
| "A few days later, John came by the Haunted Mansion looking for me. We've been together ever since," Beth said. When John proposed on September 8 - he took Beth to the spot in front of the Storybook ride where they first noticed each other, got down on one knee, took a ring out of a box and popped the question. "We wonder how many home videos there are of that," said John, adding he would like to get in touch with any of the many visitors who videotaped the proposal. Added Beth: "When I nodded 'yes,' everyone in the Storybook line started cheering and applauding." John and Beth were married December 4 by the Rev. Paul Uhlar at Chapman University Chapel in Orange. A reception was held at the Conestoga Hotel in Anaheim. The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii and live in Placentia. John is the son of Robert Rayburn of Cerritos and Merilyn Simonin of Huntington Beach. He works as a parade performer at Disneyland and as a model builder and scenic artist for Anaheim-based R & R Creative Amusement Designs. Beth is the daughter of Gloria Cisneros of Huntington Beach. Beth is a ride operator at Disneyland. |
| ~ Robert Kinsler, O.C. Register |
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