The Journal of a Disneyland Annual Passholder

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...

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...

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 ...