The Journal of a Disneyland Annual Passholder

Recently it was announced that the 50th Anniversary fireworks show "Remember Dreams Come True" which originally ended back in 2014 would be making a return. Meanwhile, the 60th anniversary show "Disneyland Forever" ended with the conclusion of the Diamond Celebration and as of now appears to be permanently retired (although with the current trend of bringing things back, Forevers return in a limited capacity wouldn't be a surprise). I don't usually compare shows since I find it to taint ones experience but I felt this had to be done in order to help what I'm talking about here. To fully appreciate a show, one must be able to understand the shows message and both firework shows actually did a good job in conveying those messages. Lets take a look at Remember Dreams Come True first. This show is pretty straightforward and easier to know what it was about right off the bat. The show tells the history of Disneyland by going through all the lands in t...

A year ago, Disneyland launched the Diamond Celebration which celebrated Disneyland's 60th Anniversary. Like the 50th anniversary before it, it was given a theme and several new offerings. The major ones were 3 new shows. To celebrate the launch, the Disneyland Resort had both theme parks open for 24 hours on May 22nd operating from 6am-6am the following day. While I had a lot of fun, i can't say the same for the thousands that came late only to find out that Disneyland Park was closed due to being full. Mouseplanet detailed the event from beginning to end and it all started around lunchtime. Below is a timeline of what happened outside Disneyland's gates, mixed with my experiences. Before May 22nd: The Resort says they're ready for a busy day and have everything prepared to deal with overcrowding. However, the statement would prove to be wrong. Morning of May 22nd: Cast Members at the gates inform Annual Passholders that they don't need handstamps and th...

Next week, a brand new show will open at the Hyperion Theater in Disney California Adventure marking the first time since 2003 that a new show has opened at the Hyperion. Frozen-Live at the Hyperion will be the first "Frozen" show in any theme park that is a true broadway type production created to retell the story of the movie. Previous shows have been small, temporary shows but have the same purpose of reliving the movie. The new show will incorporate the latest in video projecting technology that Disney has used recently in shows like World of Color and Disneyland Forever. Orgins: Back when Frozen opened in theaters and its popularity was clear, many have speculated that Frozen could be next to be made on Broadway. At the time, Disney stated that a broadway production was being looked into. Others have said that the Hyperion Theater could get Frozen to replace the long running Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular. By the time Disney confirmed that their Broadway Division...

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 ...

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 ...

Its no secret that World of Color was designed to be flexible. With such a flexible system, scenes can be either modified or switched out for newer scenes. Steve Davison envisioned the show to be like a living "Fantasia" in which each change would bring in something new to the show. No show in Disney Parks history had the ability. Even Davison himself didn't think of changing the show material in the other shows he did in the past. Back in 2009, Steve Davison presented twice, one at California Adventure and one at the inaugural D23 Expo in Anaheim, the intended lineup for the first version of World of Color. But when the show opened in 2010, much of the material had been switched around. Many fans thought that Bob Iger, the CEO of the company was responsible for the changes but thats only half true. Steve Davison and his team also had a hand in changing the show in places they deemed to not have worked as they hoped. For example, Chernabog was originally supposed...

Both of these SoCal Destinations operate in the same county and in 2 different cities. Both are just 10 minutes apart. What most people outside of SoCal don't know is that these 2 have a history that stems from both of their creators who both are named Walt and the two had a friendship. Walter Marvin Knott was a Californian born farmer that struggled in his early years of farming until his attempts at nursing several berries from an abandoned farm changed his fortunes for him and his wife. The Boysenberry plant would later be cultivated and sold on its own or as jelly. The berry proved to be a success and soon his wife would begin selling chicken dinners in order to combat the Great Depression in the 30s.  As more and more people flocked to the Chicken Dinner Restaurant, Knott decided to create a western "Ghost Town" on his property in order to entertain the hundreds waiting for a table at their restaurant. This would be the basis for Knotts Berr...

2005: The Year of New Beginnings I began my adventures as an Annual Passholder for Disneyland back on March 2005, 2 months before the 50th Anniversary celebrations at Disneyland was to start. Back then, the Premium was less than $500 and you had to take your photo for your AP card at the Annual Pass center in Disneyland after you got the pass. There was no such thing as monthly payments when I got mine, it was either you had the money or you don't buy the pass at all. I was young for my age. Being only 13 years old when my mom bought my pass, I was somewhat restricted to leaving early but being able to arrive either at park opening or an hour after it opened.In addition, I was dropped off at Downtown Disney in order to use the monorail to get in. I began having the urge to go every week, evident that I either ask if I can go or simply just get ready to go to Disneyland without asking the night before and they would allow it if the latter happened. Once it got to the 2nd half ...

Sleeping Beauty Castle Today is the 59th anniversary of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA. It really is the legacy of one mans dream to build a place where the parents and their children can have fun together. True to his word, the park has continued to evolve and change as Walt once said: "As long as there is imagination left in the world, Disneyland will never be complete.". Early History In the 1950s, Walt would begin making plans for Disneyland which he originally intended to be in a small space across the street from his studio in Burbank, CA. But when he began to have more ideas, he knew that small piece of land would not be able to hold them. He looked at other areas that could have bigger land. He then found that big land in an Orange Grove in Anaheim. The city was in the neighboring Orange County and was an hour away from LA. Walt looked around the groves and ultimately decided to purchase the land and construction soon began in 1954 and completed in ...

Its not just the Cast Members that make the magic, another park guest can make magic as well! This was a couple of weeks ago on a Thursday afternoon at Paradise Pier at the Games of the Boardwalk. On rare occasions, I'll play a game or 2 at the Games of the Boardwalk just for fun with no intent on winning anything. I was playing the game that involved shooting water at a target to get a fireman clown to the top and whoever gets up first either wins a Dumbo or Timothy depending on how many players. It was on this Thursday afternoon that I, by luck won the game and I got a Dumbo out of it. One of the players was a little girl who went back to her family afterwards. She wasn't crying or anything and seem to not have minded losing. The group was about to leave when I made a decision. There was 2 factors in making the decision that I made: 1.) I played the game 3 years ago and won a Dumbo already 2.) I figured I'd make someones day if they get a random surprise from someon...

Every now and then, Disney will shut down your favorite ride for refurbishment. For some, it dampers the visit because they won't have their favorite ride open during their visit. To me, it changes up how I do things. Indiana Jones has been closed in Adventureland for 2 months already so it was spared of the Spring Break crowds while it does some show enhancements and the usual fixes on everything. I'm a huge fan of this ride, going as far as keeping count how many times I ride it. While its a bummer, I know that its for the best as Indy usually needs refurbs a lot. The past 2 months i've been going to Disneyland Mon-Fri after my classes on those days as a way to kill time and it was spent mostly chatting with my Cast Member friends and Mickey and the Magical Map (until recently when it went dark for 3 weeks starting this week). I can't wait to explore the Temple of the Forbidden Eye once again and Journey to Imagination in Mickey and the Magical Map soon. If I didn...