ANAHEIM : Disneyland Greeter, 90, Is Guest of Honor

Even though Wayne Coulter turned 90 years old Wednesday, he went to work in the morning as a ticket-taker and greeter at Disneyland, as he does most every other day.

And even though his wife, Nell, had said she would meet him at the theme park for lunch, and they would play bridge with some friends later that evening, he wasn’t expecting much more in celebration of his 90th year.

So when Mickey Mouse, a New Orleans-style jazz band and about three dozen Main Street co-workers descended on him with birthday gifts and entertainment, the small, silver-haired man stood bewildered in the park’s front entrance, with a few tears in his eyes.

“Well, this is quite a surprise. It’s a wonderful time,” Coulter said, standing shoulder to shoulder with Mickey Mouse at the sunny, noontime celebration.

Twice retired, Coulter applied to work at the Magic Kingdom in 1985, when he was 85, not expecting to be hired. After passing years working in a paper mill and then as a real estate salesman, jobs he didn’t much enjoy, he thought Disneyland would be a refreshing change of pace.

“Well, I thought I was calling Disneyland’s bluff,” he recalled. “I thought they wouldn’t hire me.”

But not only was he hired, he seems to have become something of a local celebrity at the park, as a number of fellow employees arriving at the park Wednesday stopped to help celebrate the birthday of Disneyland’s most senior employee.

Coulter’s fellow workers at the main gate gave him a chocolate birthday cake with powder blue frosting, and the park administration gave him a giant Mickey Mouse birthday card and commemorative Walt Disney plate No. 9,189 from a limited edition of 25,000.

“I just think this is so wonderful,” said Nell Coulter, 84, who said she was afraid her husband would figure out the surprise when she didn’t bake a cake for his birthday, as she usually does. “These five years have been so enjoyable, it’s better than medicine, honestly, to be here with all these young people.”

And, of course, the couple, who have lived in Anaheim for 30 years, often bring their three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren to the park, especially when Coulter is on the job.

Coulter said he plans to continue working his 30 to 40 hours each week, “as long as the good Lord lets me,” although he said he probably won’t participate in the summer canoe races this year, as he has in years past.

“You just don’t grow old here, like you do in a retirement home or something,” he said. “I’ve retired twice, but this will be my last time, I think. . . . Those who retire are inviting the cemetery.”

With the party over, and Coulter back at work behind the turnstile, he regretted the slow pace of the off-season afternoon. Between greeting the slow stream of guests, he said, not missing a beat, “It sure drags when you’re not busy.”