The Journal of a Disneyland Annual Passholder

NOTE: My Opinion is mine alone and does not reflect the opinion of the Walt Disney Company and other Disney fans. In case you haven't heard, Selfie Sticks are officially banned from Disney Parks in California, Florida, Paris and Hong Kong. The ban comes after multiple complaints from fellow guests that got hit by people using the sticks and cast members who work attractions due to guests using them on attractions when they're not supposed to. Originally the ban was just for attractions and selfie sticks could still be used around the parks. But now they're not allowed in the parks for good. Signs are everywhere where guests arrive when they come to enjoy the parks. Theres even pamphlets handed out at the parking lots to inform guests that the sticks are now prohibited. Anyone caught with the sticks will have the stick sent to Guest Services to be held until the guest is leaving for the day where they can pick it up on the way out. I personally never got into the fad...

Recently I attended the launch day of the Disneyland Resorts Diamond Celebration which involved both parks open for 24 hours. This was also the debut of all 3 nighttime spectaculars in both parks created to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland. So how was the crowds? Think of New Years Eve+Christmas+24 Hour Day and you have an idea what it was like. By 2pm, Disneyland Park was closed off as the park reached capacity. I was lucky to park hop just before noon so I was spared the pain of waiting outside. A lot of groups that got there early enough camped out for Paint the Night. Even one of my stomping grounds, Magical Map saw full houses every performance! I was one of the few that was able to see all 3 new shows during the 24 hour day as I had the day smartly planned out. After securing a 3am fastpass for World of Color Celebrate, I headed to Disneyland and stayed there until after the fireworks. Heres my review of all 3 shows: Paint The Night: New Electrical Parade...

Steve Davison is a well known person among Disney Parks fans. He's the current Lead Creative Executive of Parades and Spectaculars as of this year after spending the past few years being the Vice President of Parades and Spectaculars. He had his beginnings with the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim when he used to be a model maker when he began his career in 1981 with the Disneyland Entertainment Art Department. After being an Art Director and a Senior Art Director with the department for several years, he became a show director and had his first big test with It's a Small World Holiday which became an instant hit and put him on Disney's radar. In 1999, he was tasked with creating a fireworks show to replace the aging Fantasy in the Sky fireworks show. For a person who had no experience with fireworks, this was no easy task. However, he overcame those obstacles and created "Believe! Theres Magic in the Stars" for the 45th Anniversary of Disneyland. The show was ...

It seems like yesterday that I saw World of Color for the very first time. When I first saw the show, it wasn't even open to the public yet. It was a Cast Member preview that my sister took me to. Ever since I saw the show for the very first time, it became my favorite nighttime spectacular in the resort. So you can say I'm an "Original" fan of the show. For the first 5 years, i've seen the show ever changing and people leaving happy that they saw this amazing show over the years. I never thought I would be obsessed with a show until this show opened. It changed the way I play at the Resort whenever I'm there for a full day. It made me love Disney even more! You might be wondering why this post is some sort of a reflection post. Well, its because it pretty much is. When the Diamond Celebration at the Disneyland Resort begins, a new World of Color show will debut which will be as spectacular as the "Classic" World of Color has been fo...

Rhianna reference aside, I couldn't be anymore excited about the upcoming Diamond Celebration at the Disneyland Resort! This new celebration will be as big as the 50th Golden Celebration that was known as the "Happiest Homecoming on Earth" and the "Happiest Celebration on Earth. But unlike 10 years ago in which all Disney Parks participated, it will be just the Disneyland Resort celebrating. During the 50th, several things debuted during the course of the celebration at Disneyland which is as follows for both parks: Disneyland Park: Walt Disneys Parade of Dreams (Ended in 2008) Remember Dreams Come True Fireworks Spectacular (Ended in 2014) Buzz Lightyears Astro Blasters Renovated Tiki Room, Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years (scaled back to "The Disneyland Story featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln in 2009) Disney California Adventure: Pixars Block Party Bash  ...

10 years ago, Disney put on a "Golden" celebration to celebrate Disneyland in Anaheim, California turning 50. Now they aim to do it again with Diamonds which is a common symbol in wedding celebrations (used to be 75). This time, the emphasis will be on Nighttime Spectaculars which will once again feature advancements in technology in ways that have never been done before in Disney Parks! More information about the 60th will be announced in the coming months. Last night, Disney Parks Blog readers got the chance to be at Disneyland to hear whats to come for the 60th and all 4 announcements are the 4 major attractions for the celebration. Diamond Decorations During the 50th, Sleeping Beauty Castle was decorated in beautiful golden decorations which featured 5 crowns representing a decade in Disneyland History. For the 60th, the castle will be decorated in diamonds and shades of blue and Carthay Circle Theatre in Disney California Adventure will also receive ...

Into the Woods is Disney's first attempt at adapting a Broadway Musical into a movie and boy did it not fail to make me laugh. From the songs from the Broadway musical to the design of some of the characters, the movie is a charming adaption of the Broadway musical and thats a strong statement from someone that didn't actually see the musical that its based on.  Fans of the Musical will have a jolly good time seeing the songs on the big screen while some will be left wondering "Why am i laughing so hard at these songs?!" One of the interesting things in the movie was the very short screen time of Johnny Depp although his character, the Wolf does die in the actual "Red Riding Hood" story so that was to be expected unless the musical twisted the story so that he lived (which didn't happen). The movies i've seen Depp in, he was a main character but in this movie, he's a minor character so Depp fans should not expect him to be in the e...