The Journal of a Disneyland Annual Passholder

Today is the birthday of one of Disneyland Resorts greatest nighttime spectaculars World of Color. This massive show combines water, fire and other amazing special effects like no other. A project so big, it took 5 years to plan, design, build and program the show. When the show was announced back in 2007, I was instantly amazed and all in for this new show. The show is nothing that Disney ever did before. Sure the shows in the past had water fountains, but nothing at the scale of World of Color. California Adventure always suffered from the lack of nighttime entertainment save for the aged Electrical Parade. The park needed a brand new show. Paradise Pier, which is the place to put on these large scale shows always had issues with fireworks. Luminaria, the first nighttime show at California Adventure was a firework based show and only lasted one season due to complaints of the smoke from the show going to the hotel guests and the nearby neighborhoods. World of Color would not have ...

On May 23rd, I spent 22 hours at both Disneyland and California Adventure. Both parks as well as the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, FL were open once again from 6am to 6am the next day. Both parks started out empty in the morning and then got more busier as the night went on. This is what I did that day that was the most exciting:  The Frozen fan inside me wanted me to do the Frozen Sing-a-long that was taking place throughout the day at the MuppetVision Theater in Hollywoodland. It was one thing to be excited to see it on the big screen again, but to actually sing along to the songs which i wasn't able to do in theaters (I didn't do the Sing a long in theaters because I wasn't sure if my theater was doing it) was very fun! Some people left over the course of the movie I'd let it slide since people thought it was just a fun show with the songs from the movie and not the full movie itself. When I parkhopped back to California Adventure in the evening, I ran into a l...

NOTE: May contain spoilers. Read at your own risk Maleficent is a live action film starring Angelina Jolie as Maleficent in a re-imagining story of Sleeping Beauty but this time focuses on Maleficent herself. There are some points in the movie that makes it stand out from the original Sleeping Beauty tale (both source and the 1959 Walt Disney Animated Classic). As its explained in the official synopsis of the movie, Maleficent suffers a horrible betrayal that causes her to lose her wings in the beginning of the movie that causes her to get revenge on the current ruler of the human kingdom King Stephan. Setting: Unlike the 1959 animated film, there lies another kingdom simply called the "Moors" which is the home of many mythical creatures and doesn't have an established ruler and this is where Maleficent lives. This replaces Maleficents lair in this movie. The "Moors" is beautiful and looks great in IMAX 3D which is what I watched the movie in. Character...

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...

February 29th, 2012 was known as Leap Day. Leap Year is the time when February gets 29 days not 28 days. 2 years ago, Disney decided to have Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in FL open from 6am on Feb 29th to 6am the next day (March 1st). I decided to attend the 24 hour day but I was able to spend 14 hours because I spent the first 10 hours preparing and having lunch with my parents. Getting there, it felt like a normal day but as the night arrived, the masses arrived and Disneyland was hit to capacity before midnight. I attended a "Midnight Snack" event arranged by the Disney Parks Blog people though there was a conflict as I was in the "Original" line for it while a second line formed. Disneyland Managers took care of it by making sure that those that were in the original line for the small event went in while those that tried to form a 2nd line was held back by Disneyland security. The small event was fun and some characters came out. To cap off the event, we wer...

"All of Our Dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."-Walt Disney Whenever I remember this quote, I realize that in order to pursue my dreams, whatever that dream may be, I have to be able achieve it by going after it actively. Its never an easy road to achieve dreams. You have to climb leaps, bounds and mountains to get there. But every small step leads to a big achievement. You've got to be willing to "Go the Distance" to get to where you want to be.

The Mark Twain has been a Disneyland classic since 1955 and I ride it every now and then whenever I need some peace from the hectic Disneyland crowds. Sailing aboard the riverboat has also made me reflect on my past Disneyland adventures and I really do feel that I am in the late 1800s. The best part about the Mark Twain and its companion, the Columbia is that on Fantasmic nights, the riverboat and ship you sailed on becomes set pieces for a thrilling nighttime spectacular Sometimes, its the classic rides at Disneyland that really do put you in the Disney magic and it can put you at peace. Disneyland isn't just about thrills, its about having an adventure.