Disneyland Railroad Articles
Customer Service The Disney Way
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I just returned from the Happiest Place on Earth in a foul mood. I'm not mad at Disneyland. As always they did everything right, providing an exceptionally magical experience for my family. I'm angry at other customer-facing merchants and businesses who fail to do the simplest things to improve customer satisfaction. You must understand that as a communications specialist, I experience Disneyland ...
Lodi Insider's Guide To The Happiest Place On Earth
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Disneyland. The Happiest Place on Earth. The sound of the Disneyland Railroad steam whistle piercing the air. The wind blowing through your hair as you plunge into the darkness of Space Mountain. The aroma of popcorn as you stroll down Main Street U.S.A. The Magic Kingdom. Oh, and the crowds packed shoulder to shoulder in the summer heat waiting to see a parade, seemingly endless lines for a ...
California vs. Paris: Fantasyland
My articles so far, in which I have compared the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), have focused on individual attractions found in Fantasyland. This month, after previewing what I shall be writing for the site in the future, I shall be looking at any aspect of Fantasyland which does not fit into any of my other articles (past or future). As well as the attractions covered in ...
How To Actually Be Happy At The Happiest Place On Earth
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School is out, the kids are full of energy and expectations and parents across Utah are making summer plans. Gasoline prices have driven many Utahns to choose Disneyland as their summer destination. Here are five tips and little-known secrets for making your Magic Kingdom visit more memorable. 1. Know when to go The crowds at Disneyland are often a concern for parents. The serious vacationer ...
Disneyland's VIPs: Five Things You Didn't Know About Disney's Star Treatment
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Celebrities get the star treatment everywhere they go and Disneyland is no exception. For years now, Disney has offered VIP guides (usually seen walking throughout the parks donning their red and blue plaid vests) to the families of film, television and sports stars. But one might be surprised by how unglamorous the star treatment can be at the Happiest Place on Earth. Sure, certain celebs might be ...
Walt's First Passion
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Since its opening in 1955, Disneyland has seen plenty of attractions come and go, but one has stood the test of time. The Disneyland Railroad was Walt's original idea and continues to be a favorite amongst guests. Long before Walt had the idea to create his magic kingdom, he developed a love for trains. "It started when he took his first job as a news bush, one of his first jobs, on the Santa Fe ...
Disneyland Tour Follows Walt Disney's Journey
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A tour of Disneyland from the perspective of Walt Disney ends with the guide quoting a newspaper article describing Disney's success as a "product of luck." The 180-minute tour, titled "A Walk in Walt's Footsteps," shows that Disney's rise from a struggling animator to Academy Award-winning filmmaker and creator of the most famous theme park in the world had little to do with luck. The guided ...
New Disneyland Attractions Provide Endless Summer Fun
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Say the word "Disneyland" to any child and you're sure to get a smile. KSL got an inside look at some of the new attractions at one of the world's famous amusement parks. If Minnie Mouse doesn't get you moving, then maybe Pluto, or Goofy, or Donald Duck or Mickey himself will get you all revved up for Disneyland's Soundsational Summer. "The Soundsational Summer is two new attractions and a ...
Storm In A Teacup
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With a boy of his own, Stephen Lacey makes his first visit to the Disneyland of his childhood. When I was a boy, my idea of Disneyland was pretty sketchy; it was where Mickey and Donald lived. And there was a ride where you sat in a giant spinning teacup. I knew only one kid who had been, a boy in third class named Brian. He was terribly thin, with bruises all over his body. One day our ...
California vs. Paris: It's A Small World
This month, in my article comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris), I shall be looking at "it's a small world", the ride which according to Walt Disney Imagineering's international Ambassador Marty Sklar- has a "song [which] will drive you bananas if you hear it often enough, but from a message standpoint is a timeless attraction". Both versions of the attraction ...
California vs. Blackpool: General
Earlier in the year, I wrote an article for DLDHistory.com comparing the Alice in Wonderland ride in Disneyland to Alice's Wonderland at Pleasure Beach Blackpool (the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom). As I have recently come back from a week's vacation in Blackpool (and seeing as my main article this month was shorter than usual) I thought I would compare Anaheim's Disneyland Resort as a ...
California_vs. Paris: Main Street USA
This month, I shall be comparing the Main Street, U.S.A.'s which can be found in the Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris). Both are based loosely on Walt's home town of Marceline Missouri. Anaheim's is set in 1910, as part of the original idea that various Lands were set in years when Halley's Comet could be visible from Earth. According to themed studs in the pavement, Main Street ...
California vs. Paris: The Railroads
This month, I shall be comparing the Railroads which circle the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris). Both versions were opening day attractions, although in Anaheim it was called the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad until 1974; in Paris, the attraction was known as Eurodisneyland Railroad up to 1994. The name change for the former was due to the end of the ride's sponsorship by ...
Mickey Mouse Gets A Toon-Themed Tree For The Holidays
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Mickey Mouse celebrates the holidays with a cartoon-style Christmas tree this season as new decor adds merriment to Mickey's Toontown for the 2011 holidays at Disneyland Resort. The holidays shine brightly throughout the resort from Nov. 14, 2011, through Jan. 8, 2012, as guests create memories for a lifetime. Those holiday memories might even appear in the nightly "The Magic, The Memories, and You!" ...
Five Things Disneyland Has Over Disney World
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When Walt Disney World opened its gates in Florida in 1971, Disneyland started taking the proverbial backseat to its younger (and much larger) sibling. Disneyland was just a theme park. Disney World was a destination. Of course, since then Disneyland has made great strides in making its resort a vacation destination as well, but Disney World has also continued to grow. With four theme parks, two ...
Rain, Rain Stay Away At Least 'Til Sunday
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I'm counting on the rain to hold off until at least Sunday so I can get to Disneyland this weekend, the first with the park decked out for the holidays. I want to get in there before the Thanksgiving and then Christmas crowds arrive. If you have never been, no kidding, it's the most amazing time to go. Especially if you're like me and sometimes have a hard time getting into the holiday spirit. ...
He Runs Grandfather's Train At Disneyland
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Disneyland Railroad in his blood: Working on the Disneyland Railroad carries on a family tradition. For many, trips to Disneyland are a family tradition. But for Nate Lord, it's working at Disneyland that carries on a family tradition. Lord is an engineer on the Disneyland Railroad, a collection of old-time steam trains that circle the park. One of the trains Lord drives is named the Ward ...
Celebrity-led Disney Event Restricts Viewing
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Celebrities ranging from actor James Earl Jones to Dick Van Dyke have led a holiday ceremony in the middle of Disneyland for five decades. But without an invitation, visitors must look for limited spots to see the event. This weekend, the annual Candlelight Ceremony returns to Disneyland's plaza in front of the Main Street train station. Actor Gary Sinise, best known for playing Lt. Dan Taylor ...
Class Action Of Blind Persons Against Disney
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On June 5, 2012, trial will commence in an action brought against Walt Disney Parks & Resorts by a class consisting of all blind visitors to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts. In Shields v. Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, the class action pending in Los Angeles, the class alleges that the Disneyland and Walt Disney World theme parks refuse to accommodate the needs of blind visitors, in violation of ...
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 ...
Disneyland Celebrates 57th Birthday Today
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Tuesday has arrived with The Happiest Place on Earth's 57th birthday. It was this date in 1955 that Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif. on 60 acres of orange groves. Starting with just 20 attractions, the wonderland has since turned into a major tourist destination in Orange County with something for everyone. On the special day Tuesday, Disneyland will honor their 57th anniversary with a ...
Women At Disneyland's 1st Day Return
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Mary Lechlitner and her daughter were among the first to ever ride the Disneyland train on the park's opening day on July 17, 1955. On Tuesday, the mother and daughter returned to sit in the train station to watch a ceremony commemorating the park's 57th birthday. Lechlitner, 96, said she's been at every Disneyland birthday celebration. Her daughter, Kathy Parks, 71, has joined her for major ...
Insiders Guide To Disneyland
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If I could live anywhere, I would live in The Haunted Mansion, like all year long," director Guillermo del Toro said last year at Comic-Con while discussing his upcoming film featuring Disneyland's iconic haunted house. And he's not alone. Hollywood is full of filmmakers and talent who are addicted to Disneyland, which opened in 1955 and now averages 40,000 visitors a day. Zachary Levi, Gwen Stefani, ...
Tour Visits Walt Disney Apartment
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Disneyland Park has revamped its "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour with new attractions and a new price. The new tour is called "Walk in Walt's Disneyland Footsteps" and it began on Sunday, according to park employees. The Disney Parks blog announced the change in August without providing details. But booking agents I talked to both at the park and on the phone say that it includes Walt Disney's ...
California vs. Paris: Frontierland
Looking back at the articles I have written comparing the two Disneylands closest to my heart (California and Paris) I realize that the only Land in the Paris version of Disneyland Park which I haven't covered in any detail yet is Frontierland. [The only elements of this Land I have looked at, to date, are Tom Sawyer Island and the Railroad]. With regards to Anaheim, I also haven't covered Critter ...
Disneyland Candlelight Parade Holiday Ceremony Expands December Dates
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It's been a Disneyland tradition since 1958. But it's also been a well-kept secret, until now. Disneyland's Candlelight Ceremony and Processional is a holiday concert featuring 600-person choir and an orchestra of local notable musicians, as well as a notable thesp narrating the story of the first Christmas. It's all staged with great fanfare on the steps of the Main Street railroad station. Past ...
Memories From The Mansion
It was August 1969 and I had just turned 9 the month before. Summer was rapidly coming to an end so, as a treat, my Dad let me go with my summer camp group on a day trip to the Magic Kingdom. We were scheduled to leave early the morning of the 12th which was a Tuesday. We would spend the entire day at the park and return early the morning of the 13th. Little did I know that this would be the most ...
Disneyland vs. Knott's
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People who are traveling in the southern California area always wonder should I go to Knott's Berry Farm or got to Disneyland. Personally I think they are both great places to visit and have a good time with family and friends. The both have great attractions to ride and play at. For example, Disneyland is the perfect place for small children because it has a variety of rides for the children to ride ...
A Flowery Tribute To One Big Mickey
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A WELCOME SIGHT: Disneyland is in the details, many fans say, including the thousands and thousands of flowers that make up the Anaheim theme park's impressive landscaping. But the most famous and photographed group of buds at the Magic Kingdom happen to be the first flowers you see: Floral Mickey. We're talking, of course, about the giant Mickey face found just beyond the entrance gates and just below the ...
Disneyland At 58 Nostalgia Change And Inside Peeks
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Here's a provocative and mind-bending question for you lifelong SoCalers out there, as well as those people who visited a certain Anaheim destination when they were children: When you think of Disneyland, or even go to Disneyland now, do you still see the park as it was on your first visit? Nostalgia is such a powerful driver for the world's most famous theme park that we do believe everyone who ...
Disneyland Once Known As Walt Disney's Folly Turns 58 Years Old
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Fifty-eight years ago today, on a hot and sunny day in Anaheim, Calif., the noble experiment called Disneyland opened to the public. There were great expectations for the world's first-ever theme park ... as well as a flood of criticism from doubters and bad reviews from just about every major news outlet. The park was woefully overcrowded, thanks to thousands of counterfeit tickets; many attractions ...
