It's A Small World Articles
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 ...
Disneyland Officially Debuts Mickey's Soundsational Parade
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On May 27, Disneyland welcomed "Mickey's Soundsational Parade, the new daily parade featuring favorite Disney characters in a musical and interactive show experience. The parade's concept is offered as a mobile music festival inspired by the music of Disney films. The parade, however, presents the Disney with a focus on percussion and rhythm with drumlines and horn elements. Mickey's ...
Gallery Celebrates Art Of Disney Legend
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The Disney Gallery is marking the 45th anniversary of "it's a small world" at Disneyland by exhibiting conceptual art of the attraction by famed artist Mary Blair. Kim Irvine, a concept director for Walt Disney Imagineering, said Blair was chosen to do the concept art for "its a small world" because of her ability to draw images from the viewpoint of a child. "She could draw the way a child ...
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 ...
Disneyland Ride Gets New Shrubbery
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Topiaries have been part of "itsasmallworld" since the ride debuted at Disneyland in 1966, but today's plants are not the originals. Karen Hedges, director of Horticulture and Resort Enhancement, said the 15 topiaries - shaped as animals and objects - have a lifespan of eight to 12 years and are replaced in phases. Earlier this month, a Firethorn in the shape of a deer and a Shrubby Yew Pine ...
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 ...
A Disneyland Summer Vacation
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My family just came home from a wonderful week-long vacation at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. We are big Disney fans, and have a blast every time we go, but this trip we saw some new stuff, and actually learned a cool secret that I'm willing to share with you GeekDad readers, as long as you all promise to use the knowledge sparingly. First, the interesting new stuff: Disney is doing a very cool job ...
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 ...
Tis The Season To Be Spooky
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Separate-ticket 'Mickey's Halloween Party' Offers Trick-or-Treating In Disneyland Park on 10 Special Nights The spirit of Halloween Time will invade Disneyland Resort this fall with Disney villains, Mickey Mouse and his friends in Halloween costumes, along with the seasonal transformations of Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain into Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. Halloween ...
Disneyland's Mickey's Halloween Party 2011 Offers New Tricks And Treats
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Disneyland Resort's Halloween Time is almost here, and Disney Cast Members and fans are getting into the spirit of the holiday. One of the highlights of the season is Mickey's Halloween Party, the after-hours event that takes place at Disneyland Park. On Sept. 7, Disneyland released information to help guests planning their visit. Here are some highlights of what's new for the 2011 Mickey's Halloween ...
Disneyland It All Started With A Mouse
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Who wants sugar in their tea? The Mad Hatter asked. Everyone cheered. It is at this moment when I realised the greatest thing for the 'little traveller' was the parks unique way to bring treasured favourites to life, such as a favoured classic, Alice in wonderland. Many years on from its opening on 17 July 1955, Walt Disney's theme park has sparked the imagination and captured the hearts of thousands ...
Wonderful Weekend Trip To The Magic Kingdom
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There is nothing quite like experiencing Disneyland through a four year-old or soon to be four-year old I should say! The entire family got to share in grandson Samuel's amazing birthday celebration at the happiest place on earth. From the moment of arrival at the hotel when the staff presented him with birthday balloons and a distinguishing "birthday" button to wear to the time that "Terk" the ...
Scariest Place On Earth Just Got Scarier
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Disneyland is advertising its annual Halloween fright fest and, as usual, I'm confused. The theme park is scary year-round as far as I'm concerned. So, what happens in October? It gets even scarier? Oh, my. Halloween Time, which continues at the park through the end of the month, features a specially decorated Main Street, retooled rides like "Haunted Mansion Holiday" and "Space Mountain Ghost ...
Six Disney Attractions Temporarily Closing
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Three attractions at Disney California Adventure and three at neighboring Disneyland are scheduled to close during October for holiday decorating and routine maintenance. Disney spokesman Kevin Rafferty, Jr. said Disney California Adventure's California Screamin' is closed until Oct. 14 for routine maintenance. California Screamin' is the only roller coaster at the Disneyland Resort that has a ...
Going Kid Free At Disneyland
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The thing that surprised me about Disneyland is how much fun I had without my kid. No, we didn't go by ourselves we brought our daughter. And we all had a blast. It was a couple days of fairies and magic and 5,000-calorie meals dipped in sugar and then glazed. Just like Walt envisioned. But there were a couple moments when the kid couldn't or had absolutely no desire at all to go on a few ...
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 ...
Holiday Season Opens For Disneyland Today
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People dressed as reindeer rehearse their dance moves and work crews in cherry-pickers add lights to Sleeping Beauty Castle as the Disneyland Resort prepares for the holiday season. Each year, Disney's theme parks, hotels and Downtown Disney undergo a transformation that begins right after the last visitor clears the gates from Disneyland's Mickey's Halloween parties on Oct. 31. Over two weeks, ...
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. ...
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 ...
Merry Holidays At Disneyland
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The magic of the holiday season is made all that more magical with cheap flights to Disneyland. Disney goes all out to create a winter wonderland at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure theme parks. Expect holiday-themed attractions and parades, decadent decorations and sweet treats, and even snow at this popular sunny Anaheim, California tourist destination. Two rides are given a complete ...
Disneyland At Christmas It's Not Just For Kids
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If there's a better place to immerse yourself in the Holidays than Disneyland I don't know where it could be. And that's especially true if you can stay at one of Disney's resort hotels. Once again this year, California residents can take an easy drive to Anaheim and enter a world of lights, color, music, rides and even Christmas "snow." Familiar attractions like the Haunted Mansion and It's a ...
It's A Small World Holiday Guests Lining Up At Disneyland
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The Disneyland tickets need to be bought to see one of the biggest holiday traditions sailing at the Happiest Place on Earth. On Sunday, the It's A Small World Holiday attraction had guests waiting over an hour to share a ride on the boats. Everyone wants to see inside where kids on displays sing about the holiday season and on Friday the lines are only bound to get longer the closer it gets to Christmas. ...
Walking In A Winter Wonderland
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Having grown up in Southern California, I can't remember a time when I wasn't aware of Disneyland. I've loved the amusement park and all things Disney since I was itty bitty. I can remember being carried out to the car while it was still dark out when I was a little girl only to wake up again at Disneyland in awe. Now as an adult, I still find the "Happiest Place on Earth" just that. There's no ...
Tips For Dealing With Holiday Crowds At Disney Parks
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Disneyland Resort parks can get jam packed, even filling to capacity, during the weeks around Christmas. It especially gets busy after Christmas Day when tourists flock to town. Read a story about Disney holiday crowds. Here are some ways to deal with the crowds: 1. Get there early: Disneyland opens at 8 a.m. and Disney California Adventure opens at 10 a.m. in the coming weeks. But lines ...
Who Says This Is The Happiest Place On Earth?
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This column wasn't supposed to happen. The subject was supposed to be out of the way, and out of my life, last Sunday. That was before readers started calling: A few even stopped me on the street. "So how was ... " The "D" word. Disneyland. Inevitable. My wife and I took our son to Disneyland during spring break. Every kid has to go to Disneyland at least once; it's an inalienable ...
Walt Disney King Of Fantasy
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Walt Disney and friends. Walt Disney, whose Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck brought laughter to the world and whose Disneyland is a playground for the world's people, calls his home at Smoke Tree Ranch, "my laughing place." Whimsical, as always, he refers to the Uncle Remus story where Brer Rabbit oh-so-casually mentions his "laughing place" and makes it sound so intriguing that Brer Fox insists on ...
7 Attractions Temporarily Close At Disney
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Visitors to Disneyland resorts may want to check ahead to see if their favorite rides are operating as the park begins its annual maintenance. Starting Monday, seven attractions will close for refurbishment as well as some shows and restaurants. The 52-year-old Matterhorn Bobsled ride will be closed until summer while crews update the ride and add new vehicles featuring three seats. Crews ...
3 Reasons Disney Is More Valuable Than You Think
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Few businesses ever strive for excellence. Advantages, yes. Profits, undoubtedly. But excellence? Not so much. Thanks to a Christmas-break trip to Disneyland in California (not China), I now believe Walt Disney is a notable exception to this rule, and I'm backing my thesis with a CAPScall. Three things I learned on our winter vacation When it comes to Disneyland, I don't surprise easily. I'd been ...
Disney Temporarily Closes 8 Attractions, 1 Show
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Eight Disney parks attractions, one show and some hotel pools will be temporarily closed for at least part of February mostly because of maintenance projects. Disney traditionally conducts most of their big renovation projects in the winter months following the busy holidays when tourism slows down. On Friday (today), Disney is reopening two of those attractions -- Redwood Creek Challenge Trail ...
Disneyland Matterhorn Ride Closes For Extensive Overhaul
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The Scharff family of Spokane, Wash., made a special trip to Disneyland recently to celebrate the birthday of 5-year-old Mason with a ride on the Matterhorn. So they were disappointed to see the 147-foot-tall attraction covered in scaffolding and closed for repairs until June. "We came to the park for a few specific rides, including It's a Small World and Matterhorn," said Ronald Scharff, who ...
