Mark Gautier had been brought back from the dead three times and had just emerged from a two-week coma when a priest was administering last rites to him.
“The doctor said, ‘You really need to do something or you’re not going to last much longer,’” recalled Gautier, 39, of Anaheim.
At 400 pounds, Gautier had slipped into diabetic shock and his kidneys were shutting down after years of failing health. The doctor’s diagnosis: Gautier needed to exercise and lose weight.
Gautier’s then-girlfriend-now-wife Vanessa had a novel idea: Let’s go to Disneyland. Her simple plan: Help Gautier lose weight by walking around the Happiest Place on Earth.
Gautier lost 150 pounds on a Disneyland Diet that included walking several miles a day while eating whatever he wanted at the Anaheim theme park — from turkey legs to corn dogs to nachos. The key to his food intake: Portion control.
Now Gautier works at Disneyland after falling in love with the theme park during his journey from death’s door to renewed health. The new lease on life persuaded Gautier to earn a bachelor’s degree as part of Disneyland’s Aspire program, which offers free tuition to its employees, known as cast members in Disney parlance.
SEE ALSO: Disney’s Avengers Campus stunt show is looking for a few good Marvel superheroes
Gautier’s health issues began in 2006 when he was diagnosed with diverticulitis and grew worse in 2007 when a blood clot in his head caused vision problems.
“I didn’t take care of myself,” Gautier said during an interview at Disneyland.
Then in August 2013 Gautier was feeling sluggish.
“The last thing I remember saying was, ‘I really don’t feel well.’ And I just fell over,” he said.
SEE ALSO: You’ll need a secret identity and super powers to get a job in Disney’s new Marvel land
When Gautier emerged from a coma two weeks later, he couldn’t see, speak or write.
“When I woke up, I didn’t know anything that was going on,” Gautier said. “A priest was brought in to give me my anointing of the sick, my last rites. It was hard knowing that this might be it, but I was at peace.”
Gautier’s wife persuaded him to change his life and promised to help him on his journey.
“After I got out of the hospital, she was just like, ‘You need to get it together. We need to make changes,’” Gautier recalled.
Gautier described his wife as a strong-willed, make-it-happen high school counselor who told him: “You can make the change. I’m going to help you. We’re going to do it together.”
SEE ALSO: Flying the Millennium Falcon with Captain Marvel and Ant-Man is just part of her job at Disneyland
They bought Disneyland annual passes and started going to the theme park on a daily basis about a month after Gautier left the hospital.
“The first two times that I came to Disney to just to walk around it was tough because I wasn’t used to walking,” Gautier said. “Then after about two weeks, I fell in love with the place.”
They got Fitbits and tracked their progress — working their way up from 1 mile a visit to 3 miles, then 5 miles and eventually 7 miles in the first year.
“It was just walk, talk and enjoy the scenery,” Gautier said.
SEE ALSO: Beloved Disneyland draft horses retire after decade of pulling Main Street U.S.A. trolleys
They would wander around Disneyland or Disney California Adventure, walk through the stores, get a snack and sit down for a bit. Every visit they would set a small goal: Ride a particular attraction, see a show or watch a parade.
Gautier’s favorite rides: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters at Disneyland (he likes the competition) and Monsters Inc.: Mike & Sulley to the Rescue at DCA (he’s a big Mike Wazowski fan). Their favorite part of Disneyland: Main Street U.S.A.
“There’s so much to look at,” Gautier said of Disneyland’s main promenade. “I always see something new.”
On their visits to Disneyland they ate whatever they wanted from hamburger combos to clam chowder bread bowls.
“It wasn’t so much that we changed what we ate, it was the portions that we ate. We cut down on everything,” Gautier said. “We never got our own thing. It was always, ‘Let’s share.’”
SEE ALSO: Disneyland’s Magic Happens parade costumes and makeup take inspiration from fashion runways
It took about five years, but Gautier eventually lost 150 pounds on his Disneyland Diet. He married Vanessa in 2016 and they had a daughter.
During one of their visits to Disneyland, Gautier announced he wanted to spend even more time at the park.
“We were walking down Main Street and I told her that ‘I want to work here,’” he said.
Gautier now works at the Disneyland Hotel as a houseman where he assists room attendants. He walks about 13 miles a day covering four floors of the hotel. He’s traded his Fitbit for an Apple Watch with a digital Mickey Mouse face that he uses to track his fitness goals.
“It’s pretty physical,” Gautier said. ”It’s nonstop all day.”
SEE ALSO: Why there’s never been a Mickey Mouse ride at a Disney theme park
After he completes his bachelor’s degree, Gautier wants to get his master’s degree through Disney’s free tuition program. He’s studying graphic design and hopes to one day work as an artist at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Gautier looks at his 150-pound weight-loss journey as a marathon and his many trips around Disneyland as his victory lap.
“They’ve given me so many opportunities,” Gautier said of the role Disney has played in his turnaround. “I’m so grateful and happy for myself. What I’ve gone through and how I’ve overcome it. All of this has been a blessing in disguise for me.”
