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...

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  ...