When Disneyland broke from its usual tradition and released a year’s worth of upcoming park programming all at once, there was a particular event that got the internet’s attention: Disney Channel Nite, which the company described as “an all-new evening event celebrating iconic Disney Channel TV shows and characters.”

When I heard “iconic Disney Channel TV shows,” my head went immediately to Scrooge McDuck diving beak-first into the sea of gold in his money bin. Would there be a “DuckTales” singalong? “Gummi Bears” meet and greets? “Kids Incorporated” dance parties? Would there be — dare to dream — a Baby Sinclair from “Dinosaurs” whacking his beleaguered dad on the head with a pan?

It turns out, no. While there were hints of ’80s and ’90s nostalgia at Disney Channel Nite, the event turned out to be for the wildcats in all of us. That is, the Wildcats from “High School Musical,” the 2006 Disney Channel movie that spawned a wildly successful franchise. While there were other major pieces of Disney entertainment in the mix — like karaoke themed to the 2008 “Camp Rock” and live performances of undead-inspired songs from the 2018 “Zombies” — the biggest emotional buy-in of the night, by far, came from guests dressed all in red, showing their high school spirit.

Could I love an after-hours event inspired mostly by movies that came out after I graduated college? I was doubtful, but I gave it a shot anyway. The details in the first announcement were scant. Maybe Disney would surprise us with some older throwbacks instead of from entertainment made for people young enough to be my kids.

My first hint that I was going to like Disney Channel Nite came the day before the March 5 event, when Golden Horseshoe updated its menu for the after hours event. It wasn’t “Dinosaurs,” but it WAS dinosaur-shaped. The quick service restaurant would be serving “Loaded Dino Nuggies,” a plate of fries and dinosaur-shaped nuggets topped with nacho cheese and buffalo ranch, then finished with sliced Fresno chiles, bacon bits and scallions. With that, and the promise of the retro-inspired menu in the Cafe Orleans dining package, I was sold.

When we walked into the event, the crowd was already buzzing. Cast members handed us event badges shaped like retro Mickey-eared TVs and glow sticks. “Crack this exactly at 9 p.m.,” one said to me, “and it will last all night.”

One major improvement over Sweethearts Nite was that although the event doesn’t start until 9 p.m., characters began appearing at 8 p.m., when the park closed to non-ticketed guests. My friends and I were making our way back to Toontown to line up early for those characters when we saw Mickey and Minnie by “it’s a small world,” dressed in their “High School Musical” finest, already posing for photos with many red uniform-clad fans.

We got in line at about 8:15 p.m. and waited almost an hour for our photos, but that had two benefits. One, we knocked out the most in-demand attraction of the night before the event even started. Two, we had a LOT of time to take in the costumes guests were wearing. Among the sea of cheerleaders and more than a few people in velour tracksuits with hands-free microphones attached to their ears, I saw people dressed as “Descendants” and more than one “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century.” There was even a man dressed as Shia LaBeouf’s character from “Holes.”

Then we made our way into Toontown, where Chip, Dale and Monterey Jack from “Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers” were making appearances. We walked under the bridge, and I stopped in my tracks. Were those … four energetic ducks playing by the fountain? And was one of them wearing a top hat? Huey, Dewey and Louie — plus Scrooge McDuck, in all their “DuckTales” finery — were all there, posing for photos and interacting with guests.

I waited my turn for a photo with Uncle Scrooge, then it was time to shoot my shot: “Can we do one diving into the money bin?” There were a lot of other fun moments at Disney Channel Nite, but that was the best one for me. That’s why events like these work — you pay a premium, but you get to do something at Disneyland you can’t do any other time.

For other people, it was getting to cheer along with the performers at the “High School Musical” and “Zombies” pep rally, or sing a classic Disney song at Camp Rock Karaoke, which was completely full of the highest energy crowd of people singing and dancing I’ve ever seen anywhere at a Disney park. Characters from “Darkwing Duck” and “TaleSpin” also made appearances, but I didn’t stop to take photos with anyone else.

At the end of the night, I sat down with my adult version of SpaghettiOs, served on a school cafeteria tray with sides like fries with purple ketchup. These rings, which were spicy and included plant-based meatballs, were the perfect kind of throwback food — the one that evokes the past, but tastes a lot better.

That’s sort of how the whole night was. I could channel some of my favorite childhood moments, but not have to worry if I was allowed to get the dino nuggies, too, as a Disney fourthmeal. I did, they were excellent, and I regret nothing.