VICTORIA -- One of the big reasons Verna and Bob are still holding hands after 50 years together is tattooed on her leg. "He's my favourite thing!" she says.

Long before her calf featured Mickey Mouse, Verna the young waitress caught the eye of Bob the young cadet. He got somebody to pass her a note in the cafeteria.

"He invited me to the sailing regatta the following weekend," she says. "And six months later we're married."

They didn't have to get married so quickly, they just knew it was right. But 15 or so years later, their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disneyworld went kind of wrong. "Our children were used to the exhibition type rides, ferris-wheel and tilt-a-whirl," Bob recalls. "After half-a-day, they kind-of went, 'we've had enough.'" 

So the next day, the kids went to Sea World. And not wanting to waste their multi-day pass, Verna and Bob returned to Disney World and had the best time ever.

"And then we went back a few months later, without kids," Verna says.

"So we've been going to Disneyworld for the past 20 years," Bob smiles. "By ourselves!"

Now Verna's phone rings in Mickey's voice, and their doorbell chimes the music to It's A Small World After All.

"We were going to have one display case for only Disney stuff, that was it," says Bob.

He points to hundreds of diverse Disney figurines. But after 20 Disney Park visits and three Disney Cruise sailings, Verna and Bob have filled two display cases and everywhere – absolutely everywhere – in between. "Everywhere you look, you see Disney," Verna says.

But more importantly, they say, everywhere you look you 'feel' Disney. And after decades of moving with the military, that feeling is profound stability.

"We ended up in postings we didn't like and that could be stressful. But we knew we would have that week or two," Bob says. "Disney became sort of our home."

Verna points to the wall beside the kitchen, featuring a few Disney jigsaw-puzzles. One of them has one piece missing. "If you look right here," she points. "Bob made a special puzzle piece." If you get closer to it, you can see he completed the puzzle with a picture of Verna.

More than Mickey, more than spending or travelling, this Disney decorating seems to be about making love last. "It's just finding something, when you go into that difficult time, you can look around and remember that was a good time," Bob explains. "There's always good times ahead.

Because as long as they're together – no matter where they are – it will be the happiest place on earth.