SYDNEY, Australia - The Australian Disney fans who took a monthlong around-the-world tour to all five Disney parks on three continents are back home.

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"We are all safe and sound — although our wallets are a lot lighter, and our suitcases much heavier!" Keith Simpson, 36, one of seven friends on the tour, wrote on the Web site http://www.dudisneyana.info.

"Every park was different yet still familiar," he added. "People asked us all the time which was our favorite, but we couldn't provide an answer to that. They all had areas in which they excelled and in which they could improve."

But he said that "personally — I still love Disneyland in Anaheim — it is the only park where you walk in Walt's footsteps and it has a different vibe to all the other parks."

The Disney addicts' first stop was the Disney park in Tokyo, followed by a Sept. 12 visit to Hong Kong, timed to coincide with the newest Disney park's first anniversary there.

From Asia, the fans flew to Paris to experience Disney European-style, then to Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla. They arrived in California in time to take part in the final day of the 50th anniversary festivities at the original Disneyland on Sept. 30.

Traveling the world one Disney park at a time cost about $4,661, inclusive of discounted rates for hotels, transfers and passes to the parks.

But Simpson said that "it was worth every penny."

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