Our World's Alumni Awards
(Getting to Know Your Travel Providers)

Dan Ware--A True Friend of Dorothy
by Wayne Whiston, Editor
Our World Magazine
Published July, 1998

Back in 1990 when Dan Ware established Toto Tours, he wondered if his casual adventure trips would catch on. Evidenced by the growth of the company over the last eight years, his worries were unfounded. And, this expansion can be, in no small way, attributed to Dan's personality. The phrase "to know him is to love him" fits this tour operator perfectly!

Always an avid traveler, Dan began Toto Tours while holding down a day job, doing the bulk of the work himself. In June of 1991, Toto's premier trip took Dan and six friends on a week-long excursion through the national parks of Southeastern Utah. After getting his feet wet, he initiated a continuing series of ever more exotic trips.

There is a bit of lthe munchkin in Dan. Past tours have had titles such as Hawaiian Lei; French Toast, Barging in Burgundy; Swept Away, Rafting the Grand Canyon; Higher Than A Kite, Horsebacking the Canadian Rockies; Fruits in Kiwiland, touring New Zealand; Scots on the Rocks, Hiking Scotland's Highlands; An Israeli Adventure named Golda, Queen of the Desert; and Eight Sheets to the Wind, a tall ship sail in the Windward Islands.

And who can forget Dan's "Family Values" trip, the first of its kind for gay and lesbian parents with their children? The ranch vacation in Michigan freaked out the local Baptist minister, who planned to picket the event until loals, in effect, told him to back off. Toto Tours garnered about a million dollars worth of free publicity once the national media got hold of the story.

Another reason for Toto's success is that Dan listens. He polls his groups to find out what they like, and what they can live without. He surveys travel agents to improve his relationship with them, and is always ready to work with the community to advance gay and lesbian travel.

Dan's philosophy is to assist gay travelers in finding personal enrichment through adventure travel, much like the fictional characters in "OZ" who sought courage, a larger heart, and greater knowledge. In the gay travel and tour business Dan is a fixture at conventions, always smiling and personable to everyone. I would say without hesitation that Dan is one of the most respected, admired and genial individuals representing our travel community.

Toto Tours' 1998 calendar is the most adventurous to date, taking participants to Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean, the Southwest US, Canada, Portugal and Greece. Dan's groups will hike, bike, raft, whalewatch, sail tall ships, spend lazy days on the beach, become culturally enriched, and always share fellowship.

Launched as a tour company for men, Dan does feature special mixed programs. This year, July 12-19 (1998), he will reprise his "Family Values" Tour, a carefully created exploration of Costa Rica, offering something for everyone of all ages. This adventure is open to gay men, lesbians and their extended families.

Dan is still searching for the Emerald City, expanding his horizons, thinking of new ways to please his clients and, along the way, collecting a huge following of friends. He built his business from the ground up without stepping on toes, and through it all, has remained the same person who dreamed of taking his friends "Over the Rainbow."

Congratulations Dan. If anyone deserves the Alumni Award, it's you!