Pinocchio's Daring Journey Articles
Disneyland Memories
Two months ago, I was warned that my article for the July issue would be about my first memories of Disneyland. I knew from the outset how hard this would be. If I had been asked about my first visit to Florida's Magic Kingdom this would be easy. It was November 18th 1988, which was Mickey's 60th birthday. I could write reams about my memories: the parades; my first trip on a monorail; finding ...
7 Tips For Tackling Disneyland In A Day
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I've been to Disneyland hundreds of times over the last two decades and have been writing the Funland theme park blog for about four years now. As a result, people are always asking me how to do everything at Disneyland in a single day. The short answer is you probably can't. It can be a struggle for even hard-core fans with military assault-like strategies. The longer answer is there's lots of ways ...
Make The Most Of Disneyland Anaheim California
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It's known as the Happiest Place on Earth. And judging by the wide-eyed look on my daughters' faces as we walked through the front gates of Anaheim's Disneyland Park, the statement is spot on. Wandering up Main Street USA, the central thoroughfare at the world-famous theme park, one of the first things we see is Sleeping Beauty's castle. It looms before us like a scene from a fairytale with its ...
Much Has Changed Much Thankfully Remains The Same
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It had been more than seven years since we last visited the Disneyland Resort. So much has changed since 2006 ... and, thankfully, so much remains the same at Walt Disney's ground-breaking theme park, known universally as The Happiest Place on Earth. Disney fans who live on the East Coast and spend the majority of their vacation time in Walt Disney World in Florida have a somewhat skewed view of ...
Disneyland Turns 60 Ranking Its Attractions by Land
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Oh, boy! The Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration begins today! Disneyland Park opened in Anaheim, Calif., on July 17, 1955, and ever since, it has entertained millions of guests from all over the world. That's no small feat! "It's amazing to contemplate all that Disneyland has come to mean to so many people around the world," Tom Staggs, COO of the Walt Disney Company, recently told the ...
Disneyland Ride Review Pinocchios Daring Journey Is A Little Wooden
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It's time to take a ride on Pinocchio's Daring Journey at Disneyland, which is based on Walt Disney's second animated feature film, "Pinocchio," which was based on the children's novel "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by Carlo Collodi. This attraction appeared in 1983, occupying the space that once held the Fantasyland Theater. Above the entrance there is a small figure of Pinocchio on a stage. Passing ...
Disneyland Ride Review Snow Whites Scary Adventure Puts You Face To Face With The Evil Queen
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Look up and you will see the evil Queen looking down with disdain through the curtains of her chamber as you enter the line for Snow White's Scary Adventure at Disneyland. As you wind your way around the dungeon in the queue, you find a golden apple. Touch it and you will hear the Queen cackle menacingly. Nearby is a book of poisons open to a page about a poisoned apple that brings on the Sleeping ...
This Is How Disneyland Changed In The 1980s
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Changes at Disneyland in the 1980s started slow, then ended in a splash down a mountain. During the first couple years of the decade, Disney Imagineers were busy with the design and building of Epcot Center (as it was called then) at Walt Disney World. But they were also planning a project for Disneyland - rebuilding Fantasyland. 1980-83 In early 1982, most of Fantasyland was behind a ...
7 Most Underrated Experiences At Disneyland
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If you're any kind of Disneyland fan, then you know the glory of the Jungle Cruise ride and you've eaten more Dole Whips than you can count. But even some of the most avid park-goers skip key experiences during their visits. The following rides, secret spots and shows often go under-appreciated in favor of bigger, sparklier Disneyland attractions. Seek out these little-known gems the next time you ...
7 Things To Know About Disneyland's New Beauty And The Beast Eatery
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All about the gray stuff, how to get that in-demand souvenir cup and more tidbits about the Red Rose Taverne. Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie, and Disneyland provides the rest. The Southern California theme park is celebrating the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast with the Red Rose Taverne. Location, location, location. The Red Rose Taverne is located in Fantasyland, ...
Disneyland Has Hottest Day On Record As Temperatures Hit 45c
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Temperatures at California's Disneyland hit a whopping 114F (45C) on Friday, the hottest day ever recorded at the popular family attraction. The sweltering conditions intensified a difficult day, which also saw Disney Parks' apps and websites crash, resulting in minimal information about wait times, no mobile ordering and restrictions on Fastpass and Maxpass. A number of outdoor attractions were ...
Every Attraction Ranked By Three Disney Superfans
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While pretty much everybody loves Disneyland to one degree or another, for some of us, love borders on obsession. Three of us in particular at CinemaBlend have been to Disneyland so many times that we've lost track. Jessica and Mack are both former Southern California residents who used to frequent the park regularly and still make a yearly pilgrimage back. While I live a few hundred miles away from the ...
10 Tips For Visiting With Toddlers And Preschoolers
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Toddlers and preschoolers can be challenging travel companions, but travel destinations like Disneyland are made for them. I've never been a parent to wait until a certain age to travel with my kids anywhere, and there was no way I was going to miss out on the magic of Disney when my kids believed in it the most (and kids are free until they turn 3 at Disney). Consequently, I've been to Disneyland ...
4 Disneyland Attractions That Desperately Need An Upgrade
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We've heard it again and again: "Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world." It's an inspiring concept and an appropriate, if overused line that Disney trots out in order to justify any number of closures, revisions, and expansions they want to tack onto the parks. But Disneyland isn't a collection of new and shiny toys. It's a ...
All 9 Lands At Ranked
Fantasyland offers the most rides and is ideally located in Disneyland. Mickey's Toontown has mediocre rides and limited shopping and dining options. New Orleans Square has the best dining options and underrated classic rides. Disneyland in Anaheim is divided into nine distinct ''lands,'' and some of these certainly offer better experiences than others. ...
Disneyland Gears Up For New Toontown Ride
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Toontown, Disneyland's first new "land" in 20 years, will unveil its latest attraction--Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin--on Toontown's first birthday, Jan. 26. Car Toon Spin is a gas. Those at the Disney-sponsored second annual Disneyana Convention in mid-September were treated to a gala evening party after the park had closed. The party was in Toontown, and it gave Disney's "imagineers" -- the ...
Disneyland Trip With Grandma: Everyone's Flush With Enthusiasm
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I saw an old friend with new eyes last week. I went to Disneyland with three grandchildren, ages 7, 6, and 20 months. Understand that I first began going to the Magic Kingdom last century, when I was a teenager and a newcomer to Southern California. Disneyland became the big-date experience. It was fitting, considering that many of my classmates had been "Mickey Mouse Club" fans, that our all-night ...
Disneyland In One Day
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The First Hint that my mission will be daunting: I tell the cast member in Guest Relations the title of the article I'm researching, and she starts to giggle. Disneyland in a day? Who am I kidding? "It might be a little hard," she says, handing me my tickets, "to do it all in a day." Disneyland has its own special feel, and nostalgia is only part of it. Yes, it's the only park Walt Disney lived to ...
Summer News At Orange County's Theme Parks
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Orange County's theme entertainment parks Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm are worth a visit any time. But this summer, they're pulling out all the stops, with parades, fireworks, and new attractions. Both are just an hour's drive from downtown Los Angeles. At Disneyland: Fantasyland revival and two new movies. You can visit dozens of storybook characters in the newly revamped Fantasyland, which ...
Disney Magic, West Coast Style
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We were halfway through the six-hour flight from Newark to the John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, CA when I began to question our decision to haul our two kids, ages 8 and 16 months, clear across country to visit Disneyland. True, it's a shorter flight to Orlando, but my son shared our "been there, done that" sentiment about Walt Disney World. We were anxious to check off the Disneyland Resort from our ...
Disney Parks Offer Devices For Visually Impaired Visitors
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After becoming legally blind at age 30, Brenda Woodrum missed seeing the details of one of her favorite Disneyland rides, Pirates of the Caribbean. So, Woodrum teared up when she heard a description of cannons shooting from pirate ships on the ride using a new listening device that just became available at Disney parks. "It was really an emotional experience," said Woodrum, 47, of Fullerton. "I ...
Two New Stores Opening In Disneyland
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One Disneyland store has an old name, but new merchandise. Another is selling sweets for the first time. This week, Disneyland is opening two new stores before the start of the busy Memorial Day weekend Jewel of Orleans and Geppetto's Sweet Shoppe, Disney announced Tuesday. The Jewel of Orleans spot in New Orleans Square has been empty since early April when the previous tenant moved out. ...
Disneyland Set To Bring In New Characters
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Disneyland plans to set up a character meeting area for two new Disney characters Rapunzel and her love interest, Flynn Rider in Fantasyland. The area will be set up in the spot where Gepetto's Sweet Shoppe now sits near Pinocchio's Daring Journey ride. The shop opened in May where a toy store used to run. See a previous story about the Disneyland store opening. The greeting area will feature ...
Fifty Years And Five Days Of Disneyland
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It's hard to say when it was decided to schedule a vacation at Disneyland. A year of pictures dominated by apes, lions and burning flesh-and those were just the kids' movies-probably had something to do with it. In any case, it was time to celebrate Disneyland's golden anniversary in style. Buyer's remorse set in as soon as the trip was confirmed. What could one possibly do for five days and four ...
Disneyland From A to Z
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A recent four-night stay at Disneyland proves that this rich, glorious theme park, celebrating its 50th anniversary from now until 2007, is best enjoyed as a planned excursion, not as a whim. Begin with Birnbaum's, an indispensable annual paperback that's available for around twelve dollars. The goal-oriented guide should be read by every visitor to insure unit cohesion. It answers detailed ...
New Disney Characters Debut At Parks This Week
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Three new Disney characters one popular in Japan, two from a new movie are set to begin greeting visitors at Disneyland Resort parks this week. The additions are Duffy the Disney Bear in Disney California Adventure and characters from "Tangled" in Disneyland. On Thursday, Duffy the Disney Bear, a prominent figure in Japan, will make his official debut to general theme-park guests during a 9:45 ...
California vs. Paris: Pinocchio
In the third of a monthly series of comparisons between the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I will be looking at the rides, shops and eateries based on Pinocchio. In California, the ride is called Pinocchio's Daring Journey (as it is in Japan), whereas in Paris, it is called Les Voyages de Pinocchio which translates literally as The Journeys of Pinocchio. For the benefit ...
Smoke Closes Fantasyland Section Of Disneyland
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A handful of Disneyland rides were closed Thursday when an electrical problem sent smoke wafting into Pinocchio's Daring Journey. The smoke was reported just after noon in the Fantasyland section of Disneyland, said Maria Sabol of the Anaheim Fire Department. "It was described as a wall producing smoke," Sabol said. "We were called out because people could smell the smoke." Sabol said some ...
Disneyland Rides Temporarily Closed After Reports Of Smoke
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Several Disneyland rides were temporarily closed Thursday afternoon after reports of smoke in an area near the Pinocchio Daring Journey ride in the Fantasyland section of the theme park, according to fire department and park officials. More than 20 personnel from the Anaheim Fire Department responded shortly after noon to reports of smoke in a 5-square-foot area near the Pinocchio ride, said Maria ...
Most Disney Rides Re-Opened After Smoke
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Disneyland has re-opened seven Fantasyland rides shut down this afternoon because of smoke behind the scenes. More than 20 firefighters were sent to the park about 12:07 p.m. regarding smoke coming from a large electrical conduit inside the wall behind Pinocchio's Daring Journey ride, said Maria Sabol, an Anaheim Fire Department spokeswoman. That ride, as of 3:30 p.m., was the lone ride still ...
My First Long-Awaited Much Anticipated Wonderful Trip To Disneyland
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I had never been to Disneyland. When I was growing up, we watched "The Wonderful World of Disney" TV show and thought it looked like a magical place, but the idea of piling all seven of us into the 1953 Plymouth and heading for California was not something that occurred to us. I didn't even know anyone who lived in California, and in those days our few vacations were generally to see family and friends. ...
