Today is Disneyland's 54th birthday.
It's not exactly a milestone, granted, but I'm going to be there next week and I want to take the opportunity to incite jealousy in the four people reading this blog who love Disneyland as much as I do.
I'll be spending the next few days reading various web sites, looking at photos, listening to music from the park, and watching YouTube videos, pretending I'm actually on the rides, and not at my computer. Here's a sampling of what I'm checking out in anticipation of next week's trip:
Favorite Disneyland web sites
MiceAge
Mouseplanet
Doombuggies
Yesterland
Other anniversaries
I normally don't ride the Matterhorn, but since it celebrated its 50th anniversary in June, I'll make an exception. Here is a fantastic graphic the O.C. Register made up for the anniversary, followed by a video of the two sides of the mountain, the Tomorrowland side and the Fantasyland side, in action, side by side.
Also celebrating a notable anniversary this year is the 40-year old Haunted Mansion. I recently learned that there is a cult group of die-hard Disneyland fans obsessed with a character that appeared in the Haunted Mansion for only a month or so when the ride opened in 1969. The haunt is referred to as the Hat Box Ghost, and although he didn't last long, he has a detailed history.
In addition, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad turns 30 in September. Sure, someone died on the ride six years ago, but I assure you I've been on it plenty of times since then, and I am just fine.
And Splash Mountain, the baby of all the Disneyland mountains, turns 20 -- today, as a matter of fact. Racist undertones aside, it's one of my favorite rides at the park.
What's new
I haven't been to the Disneyland Resort in a while, so there are some new things I can't wait to check out.
Pirate's Lair at Tom Sawyer's Island
Blue Sky Cellar at DCA
Toy Story Midway Mania at DCA
Updated It's a Small World
Harbour Galley's updated menu (clam chowder!)
Cosmic Waves (oh, that's right -- I'm excited to see the new trees)
Things I am looking forward to on my trip
Beating aside children who get in my way with my churro light saber
Having Space Mountain break down, so I can see it with the lights on
Fantasmic
Bengal Barbecue (aka eating meat on a stick)
Screaming my head off on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Seeking out Hidden Mickeys
Missing the original Country Bear Jamboree/kind of hating the Winnie the Pooh ride that took its place
Missing America Sings/definitely hating Innoventions for taking its place
Churros. I know I already said this, but damn, I can't wait for those.
Happy Birthday, Disneyland. See you next week!
MMMM Disneyland Churros....ahhhhh
Man, you are obviously *into* it.
Here's a geeky fun thing to try at the Haunted House. When you go into that elevator where the room expands and reveals the guy hanging from the top ---don't exit. Ask to go back up, and then you get to see the room *shrink*--ah yes, it doesn't take much to make life extra special.
Plus then you get to hear that whole "your cadaverous palor" speach again.
Have fun in Disneyland!
Oh man, that sounds awesome. I definitely don't have the guts to ask about that, though. I'm one of those people who abides all the rules: no flash photography, hands and feet inside the car at all times, no flashing the camera on Splash Mountain ...
Heather, you just made me dizzy. But, I gotta say, you've made me want to go back again (and it's only been 2 years). I love Space Mountain and The Haunted Mansion. Oh, and boo! No mention of Donald Duck!
*I* am completely jealous.
If you like Pineapple... do me a favor, stop by the little tiki shack and have a Dole Whip.
My little group can't make a trip without one...even if it's on our way out the gates on the last day.
I had my first Dole Whip a few years ago, and I'll admit that it was pretty tasty. I've seen people lose their minds over them, which I didn't really do. They're tasty, but not worth selling one's first born over.
Truth be told, on this trip, I'm more excited about eating my way through the parks than anything else.
The Chicken Fuzio pasta at Red Rockets is great ( and one of the few places you can refill your drink).
You can get the Monte Cristo Sandwiches at Cafe' Orleans. They also have sweet potato fries!
Royal Street Veranda has gumbo! in a sourdough bowl.
If you're willing to drop some serious cash ( and I mean more than you're paying for park tickets serious), the Napa Rose is to DIE for.
In the Disney park: If you're going for burgers the only place to go is Hungry Bear ( the other burger joints just don't cut it... you'd think)
At California Adventure there is Taste Pilots Grill
You already covered Bengal BBQ
Um... yeah, I don't have a thing for food at all... can ya tell?
I feel like I just watch an A&E Biography on Disneyland. I betcha got access to Club 33, huh?
I wish!
... she knows someone with 33 wishes and caviar dreams!
Have a magical time Heather! ºOº
My dad and I got food poisoning from Bengal Barbecue. Thanks for reminding me about that Heather.
And there's a story of the Haunted Mansion actually being haunted. A little boy was cremated and his last wish was to have his remains scattered on the Haunted Mansion. His mother asked the park, but of course they said no. So she went there and snuck his remains on the ride and scattered them along the path the buggies take. People have reported seeing a little boy standing by himself, crying for some reason.
Is the story true? I doubt it. But Heather if you see a little boy on the ride, ask him if he's dead.
Awesome!
Thanks for the links to DLP trivia/history. Hope you have a great trip.
Some more trivia: Matterhorn Bobsleds were the first tubular-steel tracked coasters. Designeed by Morgan MFG., they paved the way for the various Corkscrew, Batman and X steel coasters that followed. Morgan also designed the ride system for "Small World," which led to log flumes in nearly every park anywhere!
I have no idea who invented the churro, but I'm definitely grateful!
Yes, Disneyland! Lucky You!
So many memories. It's all the little things that make it truly the happiest place, like the Mickey shaped ice cream on a stick, all the cool stuff to buy, the characters and yes even the landscaping.
Fun!
Take a break during the busy part of the day and hit the Golden Horseshoe Revue. It's not only a great show (sit upstairs), but you can grab a delicious and fairly cheap dessert there.
And here's a secret verrrry few know (and I'm breaking Walt's heart by telling the Beehive): If for some reason you're riding a big ride with friends and you get separated from them, they tell you to ask for a 'single rider pass' at the next ride. Disney policy is to give this pass to anyone who asks (all the LA tweens know about this).
So go to the Indiana Jones ride. Go to the line area where the staff is. Ask politely for a single rider pass. Everyone in your group can ask for this pass.
Then go through the exit. Walk all the way to the 'front' of the exit line. There you'll flash your pass, and be taken to a very special line, ahead of the fast-pass folks. Within 2 minutes or so, you'll be placed on the ride with your entire group.
You can do this at any of the busy Disney rides. SHHHHHHH!!!! It's a tightly held Disney secret! If too many folks do this, they might change the policy! So only YOU can do this, HMac...and I promise it's not breaking the rules in any way.
yeah, +1 on Aileen's suggestion of the Mickey-shaped ice cream. They're cool! No, they're more than 'cool', they're at absolute zero with the help of the frozen argon gas or whatever they do to keep that stuff frozen in California.
My fave DLand story, is the wife and I taking our daughter on her first birthday. Of course, every parent thinks their first born is some sort of super-brain alien, so we figured she'd dig it. She was *seriously* stiff as a wooden board during "Pirates of the C."---we were putting our palms near her nostrils to feel her breath --" is she alive?". Parents don't realize how loud and dark these rides are. Dumb parents!(laughs). Oh yeah, we then took her to the Haunted Mansion anyway. I'm sure she'll get back at me when I'm all old and delusional.
(as far as disneyfood goes, these were the days when we'd smuggle in tuna sandwiches cuz we *knew* the prices of dried-up hamburgers in the pinnochio place were outta this world!)
[the trick is, take a grandparent along to pay for lunch!]--ok, now that I've revealed all my evil secrets, it's time to call CPS! (my friends threatened this when we were teaching them Syd Barret songs.)
You're right about not seeing some of these rides for how they appear to kids. I went with a friend and her three-year old once, and we decided the three-year old's very first ride should be Snow White. HUGE mistake. She was terrified after that. The attraction is actually called "Snow White's Scary Adventure" -- we neglected to read the "Scary" part.
After that, we forced her onto Peter Pan's Flight, during which she cried the whole time, and then Dumbo, which she kind of liked, but then she refused to go near any other ride, and cowered at the sight of giant mice in clothes walking around.
I remember being terrified of the Jungle Cruise as a child. But I was a big wimp.
For anyone wanting to take kids on Disney rides for the first time, a really great place to visit, first,is visionsfantastic.com
They have videos of almost all the rides and it's a great way to introduce the wee ones to the rides before totally immersing them.
Heck, even Mr. Toads Wild Ride can scare some of the smaller kids.
Depending on my mood Mr. Toad's can scare the crap out of me. Somedays you just feel a little more weirded out about being told your going to hell you know. :)
LOL Erica, so true.
I took my daughter last year for her 13th birthday. It really was magical. It was the first time I'd been there since grad night 2 years ago.....
We had a blast!
Our mission was to find Mulan. She is our very favorite Disney hero. Sadly, Disneyland had very few Mulan items for sale. Even more sad, when we went to find her amongst the Princess's they said they don't have a "regular" Mulan strolling the park.
That didn't stop us from running rampant yelling, "Mulan!? Mulan?! Where are you, Mulan!?"
Yes, we ran through the park calling for Mulan. I must admit, I was a bit disappointed in Disneyland.
BUT Space Mountain was fun and since we went in May the park was barely half-way full so we just kept re-entering and riding it over and over and over again!
So H, if you see Mulan, please snap a picture with her so you can email it to me and we can superimpose my daughters head on your body and trick her into thinking she was actually there!
I will do so.
I love Disneyland, obviously, but I'm not about to pretend it's not without its major flaws -- one of which is the casting off of characters of color like Mulan and Pocahontas in favor of "princesses" like Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, and the aptly named Snow White. Belle isn't even a princess, but Jasmine from "Aladdin" is, and she barely gets love from Disney. It's pretty distressing.
If you go to the Aladdin story telling area, Jasmine gets lots of love. Poor Aladdin just stands there while the little girls go crazy over Jasmine ( and some of the dads too).
Also, there is the Princess Fantasy Fair. When we went through we met up with Mulan. Horrible line, but really fun to walk through and spend time with more than one princess.
I'm pretty sure they have Pocahontas too, but she wasn't there that time ( neither was Belle).
.
Yeah, I guess Jasmine gets more attention than I thought. That's nice.
Also nice: the Disney Princess web site features Mulan and Pocahontas, as well as soon-to-be princess, Tiana, from "The Princess and the Frog." It would be nice to see them more in the park, but then there are a bunch of other characters I'd like to see walking around, as well.
I wonder how much of it is a 'talent' issue. In L.A. a blond / blue eyed actress is a dime a dozen... I wonder if they have more trouble finding someone to fit the Mulan/Jasemine/Pocohantas mold.
Oh yes..... Jack Sparrow is known to make his way through Adventure Land/ New Orleans... however, if you hit Pirates Island you're sure to run into him.
Warning: he steels things off your person, so I highly suggest hitting the Pirate Shop, get yourself the big cursed gold keychain and place it somewhere interesting ; )
The time we were there, the Jack Sparrow was GREAT... I mean, he's no Johnny Depp, but he was easy on the eyes.
Good tip on that Sparrow thing.
*crickets*
[I refuse to toss a TWSS onto a post about Disneyland]
I've ruined the purity of Disney.....
BTW, I totally had to look up TWSS ( I'm looking into that L tattoo for my forehead)
I've used "that's what she said" so often, I've taken to using "TWSS" out of laziness. I need to add both to my "Words That Suck" post (see above).
Yeah we did the whole waiting in line for Mulan at the Princess Petting Zoo aka Fantasy whatsitcalled! She wasnt there.
To Disney's credit though, she wasnt a princess but a hero.
SO whatever. We'll go in another few years and hopefully Mulan will be free to walk amongst the greats.
Lets all just send good vibes that she'll be there when you go.
Send her Tyra's love and tell her we named our dog after her boyfriend, Sheng.
OMG, I am SO going to call it the Princess Petting Zoo, now.
Luckily, "we've" outgrown the petting zoo age. We are now in the "how many times can we ride Indiana Jones" phase.
H-
Was just checking on ya.... laughed out loud about your blog. ahhhhh the 5 dollar churro. I hope you are going for a couple days. This way one day, you can beat your way across the park to Space Mountain while everyone else is staring up at Fantasmic. It's awesome btw....for the event run to city hall as soon as you get there 6 am and see if you can get tickets on the balcony for the show...they also provide desserts and no crowds! :0)
K
Wish you were going, too, homie. We haven't been to Disneyland together in, I was going to say "at least 12 years," but that makes us sound old. And, being just 25, we're definitely not old. *cough*
I love Disneyland! It sounds like you are well on your way to having a fabulous time there! And if you can ever go to Club 33, I highly recommend. My hubby and I went for lunch, it was $50 per person, which sounds expensive, but you get free entrance into the park. So we got lunch and a one day park hopper for $50 per person. What a deal!
Maybe you should also check out www.ridemax.com. Someone compiled the average wait times for every ride in Disneyland and DCA on any given day. You enter the rides you want and it gives you a schedule of which rides to get on at which times. You can build in lunches, etc. On our last trip with 4 adults and 2 children, it worked perfectly! We did not wait in line longer than 10 minutes for anything. It was like magic! There is a slight fee, but it was totally worth it. (I do not work for them or get any kind of kick back, I used the software and loved it!)
Okay, I'm going to admit it...I'm 53 and I love Disneyland!! I love everything; the rides, the food, the shows, the parades, the fireworks, heck, I even love the landscaping LOL!
My ultimate vacations are Disney World in Florida. My sister and niece both work there(meaning FREE passes), so I've been able to "feed my addiction" at least 5 times so far! When you can get FREE passes to 4 Disney Theme Parks...why not go as many times as I can??
Have fun on your upcoming trip!!