Remembering Schmoofy, Honoring Bret

This weekend, my best friend passed away after fighting incredibly hard against a rare and aggressive form of cancer. To so many in this community, he was known as Schmoofy. To me, he was Bret. I am so broken right now, but I wanted to share a glimpse into what Bret meant to me.

I first met Bret years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday, and I’d give anything to go back to the start and relive it all over again. Our friendship grew over the years into something that I’ll cherish forever. At first, we mostly focused on theme parks, but it quickly grew beyond that as we spent more time together outside of the parks. He became my best friend, and I’ve got a huge hole in my life right now.

In both social media and real life, he was one of a kind. On social media, he had a presence as a joker and, sometimes, a bit of a troll. He was always down for a laugh with a unique sense of humor. He also had a deep, deep love for the themed entertainment industry. If he wasn’t making DisTwitter Valentine’s Day memes, he was launching into the history of some obscure attraction at a regional park I’d never heard of.

In real life, Bret was incredibly kind and so much fun to be around. Both Bret and his wife Kristen loved hosting game nights where they would open their house to friends and make it feel like home. Every game night was filled with so much laughter and joy, even if we spent more brainpower than we should’ve trying to figure out the gameplay mechanics of whatever new game Bret had purchased that week.

When it was just Bret and me, we always had a great time. Bret allowed me to be me with no judgment, just joy. I’ve never laughed more with someone. I’m going to deeply miss the freedom he gave me to just be me when I was around him. I’m also going to miss our adventures.

There are a lot of legendary Schmoofy moments on DisTwitter, but one of the stories I’ll cherish the most happened on a whim. When the theme parks closed for COVID, I struggled a lot with my mental health, like so many people did during that time. Thankfully, I had Bret. During COVID, Bret and his wife Kristen made their home incredibly welcoming to my wife and me. We would go over and play games, celebrate birthdays, and so much more.

A little more than a month into the theme park closures, we were hanging out at Bret and Kristen’s house when Bret saw that there was a pallet of Star Wars-themed Coca-Cola bottles being sold in a small roadside shop called Tates Supermarket in Hartford, Alabama. Our wives knew that the day of games and hanging out that we had planned was quickly being derailed by Bret’s never-ending commitment to the bit. Within a few minutes, Bret and I were in the car, setting off on a 5-hour drive (each way) to a different state…all for a tweet. When we got there, the pallet of space soda may have been empty, but my friendship was full.

Another fun memory that is breaking through the fog of the past few months is when Bret found out that Typhoon Lagoon was reopening. For more than a year, he was committed to being the cheerleader for getting Walt Disney World to reopen Typhoon Lagoon following the COVID-19 shutdowns. He rarely missed an opportunity to tweet at Walt Disney World to “reopen Typhoon Lagoon”.

Well, the time finally came for Typhoon Lagoon to reopen, and he decided to wear a suit to the reopening. Not a bathing suit like everyone else, no. This special occasion called for an actual suit.

So, we rope-dropped Typhoon Lagoon on its reopening day. He was the first person in the wave pool that day, suit and all, and I was there to take the photos and witness my best friend doing what he loved most – celebrating theme parks and having fun while doing it.

Another great memory also took place during the theme park shutdowns, when Bret was a place of fun and enjoyment during a dark time for me. Summer 2020, and Bret decided that he was going to make the soon-to-open Candymonium roller coaster at Hershey Park his 100th coaster “credit”. To do that, he had to add a few coasters to the list while we waited for July to roll around. That meant a day at the Fun Spot locations in Orlando for some new coaster credits. So, I took my work photography gear to Fun Spot to capture him riding new-to-him roller coasters for the first time. From Mine Blower, Florida’s only wooden roller coaster to feature an inversion, to Sea Serpent – a kids’ roller coaster, Bret and I spent the entire day together, just the two of us, walking around mostly empty Fun Spot locations to increase his coaster credits before the big 100 at Hershey Park later that summer.

Bret introduced us to so many new and fun experiences, including Halloween Horror Nights. Bret was NOT a horror fan when we met him, so an invitation to Halloween Horror Nights came out of left field. I mean, the guy said that he couldn’t walk down the Halloween aisle in Walmart, and all of a sudden, we were immersed in fog and horror at the premier Halloween event in America. We had such a great time during our first Halloween Horror Nights event that we have gone on to purchase seasonal passes every year since – including this year.

Over the years, we would attend HHN a lot with our wives, but we would also spend long nights walking through the fog just the two of us. Carpooling to HHN, listening to the most, uh, unique Spotify playlist in the world, and then just vibing at HHN truly was the best of times. Some nights we would just walk and talk. Some nights we would enjoy the haunted houses, open to close. And some nights we would walk around and take photos together. Every night was special, and I wish I had decades more of late HHN nights with him.

Bret received his cancer diagnosis back in the Spring, and one of his goals beyond beating this incredibly tough version of cancer was to enjoy Halloween Horror Nights. I’m so grateful that he was able to attend multiple nights this year.

There are so many other memories that I’ll cherish, including visiting his home state of Pennsylvania to visit his favorite spots like Knoebels, Hershey Park, Sabatini’s Pizza, and more.

I’m grateful to have a decade of memories that I’ll never forget.

Please keep Bret’s wife Kristen in your thoughts, and please consider donating at the GoFundMe link below to help during this incredibly difficult time.

Fundraiser by Caitlin Hodges : Help Bret Taggart’s Family with Memorial and Medical Costs

It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Bret Tag… Caitlin Hodges needs your support for Help Bret Taggart’s Family with Memorial and Medical Costs

www.gofundme.com