The Journal of a Disneyland Annual Passholder

I've been to some opening days in the past but mainly it was for shows the most recent being the opening night for the 60th Anniversary fireworks. But this year I went to the opening day for Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout which replaced the fan favorite Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. I've been looking forward to Guardians since the announcement since the attraction now fully uses the potential of the ride system to deliver multiple different experiences. The ride system for the DCA Tower of Terror was designed similar to the Tower in Orlando to be able run multiple ride profiles (For DHS Tower of Terror, the drops are randomized.) but wasn't tried until the final months of Tower of Terror when Disney introduced "Late Checkout" which provided the same drop sequence but delivered a different ride experience somewhat. With Guardians of the Galaxy, the Imagineers decided to randomize the experience for Guardians by using 6 songs with each song having its...

Back in August 2015 during the D23 Expo, Bob Iger announced that Star Wars themed lands were coming to Disneyland and Walt Disney World in its Hollywood Studios Theme Park. At Disneyland, the land is being built north of Frontierland, mainly in backstage areas that have long been relocated. The real casualty for the guests is the loss of Big Thunder Ranch and the Festival Arena. Disney also announced that the Rivers of America, the Railroad and Fantasmic would close for 2016 and reopen this year. The Railroad will have a new route and the Mark Twain and Columbia and the canoes would travel a shorter route but would travel along a brand new rear end of the river. The River which represents several known US Rivers will include a new section dedicated to the real life Columbia Gorge. But what many fans were anticipating is the return of a retooled and enhanced Fantasmic!. Over the course of several years, the show has seen technological upgrades but the original story kept intact. T...

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...

Dear Kobe Bryant, When I was in elementary school, my father introduced me to the NBA. We watched Lakers games together and my earliest memory was watching you and Shaq play alongside each other while being coached by Phil Jackson. With those 2, you got 3 rings. But during that span, you had your first black spots in your career. From feuds with Shaq to the rape case, you had to overcome them to be better in the sport you love. After you lost to Detroit in 2004, my focus shifted to my studies in High School but I kept tabs on you and the Lakers until I was able to watch again. By that time, I was 2 years away from graduating High School, Phil Jackson came back to coach the Lakers and you found new teammates, but importantly, you stayed a Laker. I remembered watching you lose again in the NBA Finals in 2008 to the rival Celtics. On hand, I was mad. Mad that the rival in the East blew you out. But on the other, I was optimistic that it would be motivation for you to win another rin...

Concept Art from Disney The moment that Star Wars fans have been waiting for is here! Star Wars will get its own land in both Walt Disney World (FL) and the Disneyland Resort (CA). This is expected to be huge as Disney is investing a lot into the new expansions as the new Star Wars films get underway starting with "Force Awakens" this Christmas.  For Disneyland, its reportedly the biggest expansion in its history. And to keep fans occupied till then, the resorts will host some Star Wars events (includes overlays and updates to existing Star Wars attractions and shows). The biggest question in every Disneyland Fans minds were: Where would it go? Disneyland suffers from being "land-locked" as a result of being surrounded by hotels and businesses. This forces the park to replace backstage areas or existing attractions to make room  for expansion. Heres a map of the area where Star Wars land is set to be located in. Various fan sites have r...

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...

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...