A Delayed Dumbo Ride Took Flight In 1955
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Despite the 1941 Walt Disney film achieving success, including an Oscar win for best score, the Flying Elephant ride faced a slow start due to technological and financial issues. Disneyland's Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride boasts a noble heritage. It's based on the 64-minute 1941 Walt Disney film that won an Oscar for best score and which The Hollywood Reporter called the "gayest and most hilarious ...
A Diamond Celebration In Sardineland
It had been three or four years since I had last been to Disneyland. But, on May 22, my mother and I went, just the two of us. That day was the opening day, for lack of a better term, of the park's Diamond celebration. As a part of that, the parks were open for 24 hours, closing at 6 A.M. on May 23 for a few hours. Rather inadvertently, we ended up parking in the "Toy Story" parking lot instead of ...
A Disneyland Chronology
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Summer 1948: Walt Disney visits the Chicago Railroad Fair, a spectacle that spurs his dream for a "Mickey Mouse Park." June 1953: Stanford Research Institute is tapped to conduct a survey for a site within metropolitan Los Angeles and accessible by freeway. Search ends with purchase of 160 acres of orange groves in Anaheim. July 21, 1954: Construction of Disneyland begins. July 17, 1955: ...
A Disneyland Favorite: The Jungle Cruise
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It never seems to fail that every time you board the Jungle Cruise attraction at Disneyland, you smile. These free styling captains take the boat out into uncharted (yet track based) waters to help us appreciate the best the jungle has to offer. Not it doesn't matter how many times you have been on this ride in the last month....ummm I mean last year, you will see that the captain is the source that ...
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 ...
A Dream Vacation
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Back in the 1960s, Walt Disney dreamed of a luxury apartment where he could entertain friends and special guests while enjoying the festive spirit of Disneyland's New Orleans Square. Disney hired famed "Gone with the Wind" set designer Dorothea Redmond to conceptualize this special apartment above Pirates of the Caribbean, located along Royal Street. Sadly, when Walt Disney died in 1966, plans ...
A Droid Named Jake Roams Disneyland Will This And Other Droids Follow You Around In Star Wars Land
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Just a day after The Walt Disney Co. released a trailer for its latest "Star Wars" movie, Disneyland dropped a major hint of what might inhabit Star Wars land: Galaxy's Edge in 2019. An orange and white J4-K3 droid better known as "Jake" was seen roaming around Tomorrowland on Tuesday, Oct. 10, beeping, interacting and mingling with visitors in front of the Star Wars Launch Bay building at Disneyland. ...
A Family Tribute To Walt Disney San Francisco Museum Tells The Story Of The Man Not The Brand
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During Sunday brunch in a diner near Fisherman's Wharf, I started contemplating how my 14-year-old daughter and I would spend the afternoon. My husband and son were hustling off to the baseball park for a Giants-Brewers game so on our third day here, we had several unplanned hours to soak up more attractions -- or maybe just stroll, I thought. We had covered so much ground the first couple of days -- the ...
A Family Trip To The Disney Family Museum
I have been looking forward to the opening of the Disney Family Museum for a long time. When I first got wind of it, I immediately e-mailed the curator who informed me I had about 3 years to wait. What, 3 years! I want it now! So I waited, bided my time, checked in at the museum site every couple of weeks to read about the progress. When I thought I could not take it any longer, Bam, they opened up, and I ...
A Family-Friendly Halloween Tradition Returns As Disney's Halloweentime
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Halloween Dreams Come True Beginning Sept. 21 When Parks and Characters Are Transformed For the Autumn Holiday Season Following up on the success of its inaugural season last year, Disney's HalloweenTime will return to the Disneyland Resort this fall with a lively mix of Disney characters in seasonal costumes, whimsical decor, decked-out attractions, themed shows and tasty treats designed with the ...
A Fantasy That Paid Off
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The place is surrounded by a berm, a high barrow of earth, that insulates it from the external world. There is a single gateway where admission is charged. This, the land of Disney, is more secure than ancient Troy. No Trojan horse will get into Disneyland. Guards at the main gate closely scrutinize all who enter. Not even an unseemly teenager will get past them, much less a Trojan horse. Disneyland is ...
A Few Nuggets About Disneyland As It Turns 56
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Disneyland The Happiest Place on Earth turns 56 on Sunday. Much has been said and written about the groundbreaking amusement enterprise in Anaheim, Calif. But even after more than five and a half decades in operation, some interesting nuggets can still be unearthed. For instance, not many people are aware that during the first few years of operation, not only could you visit the park during a ...
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 ...
A Former Snow White Dishes About Life As A Disney Park Princess
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For some, the biggest attraction at Disney theme parks is meeting the real-life princesses. Known as "face characters," the princesses not only have to look the part, but they need to know quotes from their movies, stay in character at all times, and know how to sing and dance. Reddit user doublenn held an AMA a year ago about her time as Snow White at Disneyland she even posted a picture to ...
A Four Year Old Boy's Delight There Was Not A Princess In Sight
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We're going to Disneyland. When you say those words to your child, the last thing you expect to hear is, "I don't want to go there." I was surprised by my son's initial reaction until I learned the reason behind it. Disneyland is for girls, he said. Only princesses live in Disneyland. Determined to prove him wrong, we sat at the computer and within seconds found all kinds of Disney ...
A Free Ride To Disneyland
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Although there may be no such thing as a free lunch--there are ways to get into Disneyland for free, even if you have to pay. Out of the four times I have been to the theme park, I've only paid for a legitimate ticket once. So if you're cash-strapped but still looking to get a piece of the Happiest Place on Earth, here's the skinny on three tried-and-true ways to get in the Magical Kingdom's back door... ...
A Frugal Guide To Disneyland
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If you're looking for a cut-rate vacation with the kids, The Disneyland Resort of Southern California may not be the first place that comes to mind. But a visit to the self-proclaimed Happiest Place on Earth doesn't have to mean saving until the kids are too old to believe in the magic. Though frankly, at 32, I still find Disneyland as magical as my five-year-old. The great thing about a ...
A Gardener's Visit To Disneyland
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A gardening enthusiast will find the landscaping at Disneyland almost as appealing as the rides and exhibits the place is famous for. You're aware of the plantings as soon as you enter the main gate. They form a background for the buildings, make the transition from one area to another a pleasant experience, and establish the character of each of the "lands." This landscaping has not been a hit or miss ...
A Grandmother's Magical Return To Disneyland
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If you live in North America, indeed much of the world, you are unlikely to have avoided the spell that has been cast over modern culture since the day Walt Disney opened the gates to his Disneyland theme park in California in 1955. If you were a lucky child, your parents loaded up the station wagon and headed to Anaheim at least once during your childhood, cramming the family into a little offsite ...
A Great Destination For All Generations
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I had been pretty neutral on all things Disney while I was growing up, and as a young adult I didn't seek out any Disney entertainment. I had been to Disney World once when I was eight or nine, but that was pre-Epcot and all I remembered was loving Peter Pan and hating Space Mountain. But in 2006 when my kids were five and two, I had the chance to go to Disney World again. This time, it was a whole new ...
A Great New Documentary About The Breakneck Construction Of Disneyland In Just One Year
Disneyland Handcrafted is a new documentary about the construction of Disneyland from July 16, 1954 to its opening date on July 17, 1955. The fact that this groundbreaking park was built in one year is mind-boggling. Today, it can take five years to construct one Disney theme park ride!
When Walt Disney and Walt Disney Studios embarked on the project, they had to cobble together funding, ...
A Guest Literally Pulled The Sword Excalibur From The Stone
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Legend tells of the Sword in the Stone, a weapon that can only be pulled from its resting place by the new king. For decades that sword has rested in front of King Arthur's Carousel at Disneyland, and now, it appears we have a new leader, because somebody apparently pulled the sword from the stone. A few days ago the sword, which sits in front of the carousel, went missing, and while it was ...
A Guide To Fireworks
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Disneyland fireworks are a spectacular way to end your night at the Happiest Place on Earth. There 's nothing quite like seeing Tinkerbell fly through the sky and sprinkle the air with her pixie dust. Read on for an overview of Disneyland fireworks shows, where to view them, and how to stake out a great spot on your next visit! Fireworks Shows at Disneyland ...
A Guide To Old And New Holiday Traditions
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In its first holiday season since the COVID shutdown, Disneyland celebrates the return of beloved traditions and introduces new ways to make memories with live entertainment, festive foods, themed merchandise, wintertime decor, new characters, and more. Merry Traditions Guests are invited to experience the return of “A Christmas Fantasy” Parade as well as the “Believe… In Holiday ...
A Guy A Girl And 366 Straight Days At Disneyland
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If, like Jeff Reitz and Tonya Mickesh, you go to Disneyland oftenvery oftenyou know that asking for a roast beef melt made without horseradish, as opposed to a roast beef melt with horseradish removed after the fact, will require a ten-minute wait at the Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe. You know that, if conditions are right, you may ride in the wheelhouse of the Mark Twain Riverboat and help steer. You know ...
A Hidden Indiana Jones Gem At Adventureland
Deep in the jungles of Adventureland, near the legendary Temple of the Forbidden Eye, brave adventurers might find a legendary treasure: Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure. This pinball table is highly desired by collectors and beloved by enthusiasts worldwide for it 's theme, gameplay and good looks, and the one inside Disneyland 's Adventureland is especially notable.
The pinball table has ...
A Land Of Dreams And A Land Of Fears
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My blessings are too many to count, so instead, I count the things I'm gonna miss when I die. Originally, my list was made up of mostly family and friends. But then I started adding things like sex and Haagan-Daz, fried green tomatoes, Lucky Charms and pork chops, jump shots and over-the-shoulder catches, Chopin and Al Green, and before long, my miss-list was larger than my blessings-list. Today ...
A Late Night Visit To Mickeys Toontown
On my recent trip to the Disneyland Resort, I did something that until fairly recently, you weren 't able to take advantage of. I paid a post-fireworks visit to Mickey 's Toontown.
For those of you unfamiliar with the location of Toontown in Disneyland Park, it 's at the very back of the park and is just in front of where the nightly fireworks are launched from. Historically, the land closed ...
A Little Night Light
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Here's some advice for those Disneyland purists who have been howling over "Light Magic," the new show unveiled this month as a replacement for the venerable Main Street Electrical Parade: It's different from its predecessor, and entertaining in its own unique way. Deal with it! Life is about change. Hey, Walt embraced it. Even Disneyland needs to make an occasional tweak to acknowledge advances in ...
A Little Night Magic
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Is that a can of "New Coke" that Mickey Mouse is sipping as he trips the light fantastic in the Light Magic show, Disneyland's new "streetacular" parade, which started rumbling through Fantasyland and down Main Street last week? When some Disneyland patrons pronounced themselves underwhelmed by the attraction during its first preview excursion -- comparing it unfavorably with the Main Street Electrical ...
A Look At Cafe Daisy And Good Boy Grocers
The revamped Mickey 's Toontown is set to open on March 19, 2023, and Disneyland has made sure everyone has access to snacks and more when visiting this area of the park with two new eateries: Café Daisy and Good Boy! Grocers. Café Daisy Nosh on diner classics concocted by acclaimed culinary expert, Daisy Duck, at this new quick service location named after her. Serving up ...
Access To Over 3190 Construction Photos
