Disney Icon Richard Gerth Facing Health issues – Here’s What We Know So Far

As many of you may know at this point, one of the legendary cast members of Disney’s Grand Floridian is reportedly facing some rather serious health concerns. While I cannot and will not state these as confirmed reports until official word from the family is released or shared by Disney, I wanted to put something out to share what we know so far. As the day progresses, I will do what I can to update this post with any new information.

At this point I really only have heard two details of the situation. First, it appears as if Richard is facing a rather serious illness (many are sharing that he is facing pneumonia). Second, based on social media user reports, Richard has been moved to hospice care and could use any support we can show him in this online Disney community.

Unfortunately, at this point, this is all we know. If you have any more information or have heard any official reports on his current condition, please share them. We’ll gladly update the article and share any and all info we can find along the way. 

Richard Gerth has been a huge part of the Grand Floridian cast member family for years on end. Many brides have truly wonderful stories about Richard and his influence in their weddings at the resort. Additionally, his warm and welcoming presence has brought smiles to guests faces year after year as a greeter in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. He’s a man that will put a smile on your face and develop a memory in your mind that will truly never fade away. It’s rather strange to speak of such influence of one man, but a passion for what you do and the experience you want to create for guests truly stands out in the hearts and minds of guests. In regards to Richard, he is the representation of what I think a cast member should look like and is the ideal image of Walt’s original goal with these parks in the very beginning. Richard truly sets things apart, and we wish him well if these early reports remain true. 

A short while ago, we shared a post titled Legendary Cast of The Disney Parks: Richard Gerth and His Lasting Impression On Guests. It wasn’t until that post went live that I fully recognized the extent of his “reach” and the memories he has created for guests. The stories shared in the comments and on social media pages were unbelievable and to my surprise a reader happened to share the article with him in person. They said he had a smile on his face the whole time the article was being read and honestly those are the types of moments where all of this website writing/blogging/etc. starts to make sense in my mind. I never thought that post would reach him or that it would even mean anything if it did. It was a rather simple moment but one that put a smile on my face hundreds of miles away from the parks. This community exceeds my wildest expectations and I really can’t thatk you all enough for that.

If you have a photo of Richard you’d like to share here, feel free to share it with us on social media and we’ll get it posted on this page. One last thing worth mentioning is that I will not be attempting to reach out to the family for more information. I do not want to invade their privacy and recommend that we show support in other ways.  

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