A Nostalgic Attraction Is Making An Epic Return
As a kid, I always loved venturing into the Main Street Opera House in Disneyland for a showing of “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.” My friends and I would sit down in the cool, dark theater (a much-needed respite on hot summer days), and the multisensory attraction took us through President Abraham Lincoln 's entire life from small moments like a visit to the hairdresser and his history-making ...
A Park With A Powerful Spell
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Disneyland opened on this day in 1955. For five decades, the Anaheim attraction has worked its magic on our culture and transformed the entertainment industry. To build his dream theme park in Anaheim a half-century ago, Walt Disney borrowed against his life insurance policy and cashed in property, including a vacation home in Palm Springs, to pay the $17-million construction bill. When the ...
A Perfect 48 Hours Of Eating At Disneyland Resort
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Theme park food normally brings to mind wilted hot dogs and sad soft serve cones, but Disney cares far too much about its culinary program to stoop so low at its original park. The perfect 48 hours in the Happiest Place on Earth are filled with much less junk food than you'd anticipate, with generous options for strong cocktails, sit-down dinners that don't disappoint, and plenty of unique eats that'll ...
A Rare Character Debuts At Oogie Boogie Bash Halloween Party
“I 'm looking for a rabbit,” he says, sinister gaze peering down from his perch in a grimy back alley. “You wouldn 't happen to know where the rabbit might be, do you?” Judge Doom, the villain from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” a character played by Christoper Lloyd in the 1988 film, made his first-ever Disneyland appearance at opening night of Oogie Boogie Bash on Sept. 4. And he was out for ...
A Really Weird Experience The Oddest Places Readers Have Ever Been Stuck On Rides
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There 's one moment on the Haunted Mansion - my favorite ride, my only must-do on any given Disneyland day - that I absolutely dread. Sometimes I close my eyes, sometimes I just avert them to focus on something more agreeable to my sensibilities, sometimes I just fix my gaze, staring down my own demon in grotesque horror. It has absolutely nothing to do with a ghost. The spot I ...
A Restless Dreamer And A Prolific Creator
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As Disneyland launches its 50th birthday celebration, it seems appropriate to consider the founding father who turned his last name into an enduring brand and created a media giant that bestrides the planet. Walt Disney, as many have noted with varying degrees of accuracy, was not always the kindly, genial Uncle Walt who cared only about making children laugh. He was much more complex and more interesting. ...
A Ride On Disneyland's Reimagined Attraction
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A ride on Disneyland's reimagined attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, leaves one singing the Yo Ho song as never before. The overlay is, in a word, terrific. Timed to promote this summer's sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the 39-year-old attraction, located in Disneyland's New Orleans Square, takes place before Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) recaptures the title ship in the ...
A Secret Dining Experience Fit For Royalty
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Disneyland aficionados already know about the exclusivity of Club 33. But for a taste of that Disney high life, non-members can enjoy an exclusive dining experience at the park. While it's not cheap, it certainly fits the price tag. Just upstairs from the park's Pirates of the Caribbean ride sits 21 Royal, sporting a name and setting fit for a Disney princess. The 19th century inspired venue is ...
A Sneak Peek Inside Rehabbed It's A Small World Ride
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Disneyland's "it's a small world" opens Friday with new characters, new boats and even a new "Spirit of America" scene before the ride's grand finale. The it's a small world ride has been virtually untouched since it initially opened in 1966. Other than routine maintenance and yearly Christmas decorations, nobody has taken time to redesign the classic ride, which is still extremely popular among ...
A Special Kind Of Weird
Howard Johnson 's Anaheim branch hotel is less than half a mile from the Disneyland Resort, a roughly 8 minute walk. The hotel also has a webcam pointing at various spots at the Resort. The main spots are in Disneyland, with the Matterhorn acting as Sleeping Beauty Castle, so to speak, having the whole mountain and a zoom in on one of the Bobsleds. The mountain is featured prominently in the overview of ...
A Special Way To Experience A Classic Attraction
Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is one of Disneyland 's more unique attractions, located in Tomorrowland. In this attraction, Guests can embark on a submarine to discover the secrets below the surface of the water and go on a journey to find Nemo while encountering other memorable characters from the film Finding Nemo. However, this attraction includes some stairs into the submarine, which may ...
A Spirited Outdoor Expansion Will Soon Materialize At Haunted Mansion
When you've famously housed 999 Happy Haunts for over 50 phantom-filled years, you can expect that there will be some need, from time to time, for the sort of expansion that allows for a little more wiggle room. Of course, the Haunted Mansion has plenty of wiggle room - that stretching room, for instance, seems especially spacious, as does the gleeful graveyard - but the outdoor areas ...
A Spoonful Of Sugarforward Into The Past At Disneyland's Storybook Memories Exhibit
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Every now and then, as you're digging around trying to find some old tax papers in all those boxes crammed into your garage, you'll stumble across some forgotten but potent artifact from your childhood. It could be the teddy bear you carried everywhere when you were 5; it could be the Star Wars lunch box that mysteriously vanished when you were 6; it could be some Popsicle-stick dragon you made when you ...
A Sprinkle Of Pixie Dust
"Fantasyland" is said to be Walt Disney's favorite Land. And it's tough to blame him. "Sleeping Beauty Castle" welcomes you, as both the main entrance and park icon. "King Arthur Carrousel" was built in 1875 and operated in Ontario, Canada from 1922 until 1955 when it was relocated to Disneyland. Until 1975, only one horse was white, and now all of them are. Merlin hosted a ceremony that determined which ...
A Tale Of Two Cities
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Off-screen as well as on, the folks at the Walt Disney Co. have that certain touch. Recently they've announced two proposals for theme parks. Does Disney really intend to build both? Whatever the answer, the announcements have come so close together that it's as if Disney is trying to play Long Beach off against Anaheim to see which city will win the prize. This week Disney unveiled what had already ...
A Talent For Topiary
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At Disneyland, you'll find several delicate swans, sculpted from plants, set amid the grassy slopes at Sleeping Beauty Castle. You'll see topiary Dumbos on location at the Flying Elephant ride. But perhaps the most famous Disneyland topiaries are set in the forecourt of Fantasyland's "It's a Small World." The animals reflect the cultural diversity found inside: a 12-foot-tall giraffe shares the ...
A Time For Mickey Mouse
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I remember Riverview. This vast amusement park was located on Chicago's North Side. It was magnificent, dangerous and thrilling. There were freak shows; there was the renowned Bobs roller coaster, built as the fastest in the world; there was the Rotor. a room-sized cylinder in which one stood back against the wall and was spun around while the floor dropped away; there was the parachute jump, the symbol of ...
A Ton Of Breakfast Items Are Back
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When Disneyland reopened after its historic 412-day closure, there were a lot of things that were unavailable - including a number of restaurants that remained closed. One of the biggest things that Disneyland Guests were unable to get was breakfast. There are several Starbucks locations on the property, but Guests wanting to eat there had incredibly long wait times. Well, Disneyland fans ...
A Tribute To The Man, Beyond Just The Mouse
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At first glance the Walt Disney Family Museum, which opens on Oct. 1, would seem a serious, even scholarly endeavor. Financed by the Walt Disney Family Foundation and run by Richard Benefield, the former deputy director of the Harvard University Art Museums, it is dedicated not to Disney the entertainment behemoth but to Disney the man, from his birth in Chicago, to his role as a powerful studio boss in ...
A Trip Down Memory Lane At Disneyland
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Ignore those office emails, forget all about the economy and for an afternoon focus instead on what's really important, especially on vacation - making memories with the kids. Judging by the crowds on a recent sunny day at Disneyland and it's sister California Adventure Park in Anaheim, a lot of families have decided to do just that, getting every dollar's worth out of the day and ending triumphantly ...
A Trip To Disneyland
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Tennis shoes, hamburgers and being a child again "Don't you think a 3-year-old is too young to take to Disneyland?" my aunt asked me over dessert and coffee. I told her that when my son was three, I took him on his first trip to Disneyland. "Yes, but did he get much out of it? -- Is it safe? -- Do you have to always be watching your kids or can they just run around?" I was getting ...
A Tropical Storm Is Heading Toward Disney Land
So who put money down on Disneyland getting hit by a tropical storm before Walt Disney World this year? For this first time that I can remember, the Los Angeles metro area lies within the forecast cone for a tropical storm. The current Tropical Storm Hilary is expected to become a major hurricane by the weekend, with the storm weakening back to tropical storm strength when it arrives in LA on ...
A Visit To Disneyland Priceless
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My 9-month-old baby daughter had been good most of the morning. There hadn't been a single tear or even a squeak from her. We had driven to Disneyland, parked the car, taken the tram to the entrance gate and walked all the way to Mickey's Toontown at the other end of the park. I would have thought she was sleeping but she was too busing turning her head, with wide-open eyes, taking in everything around ...
A Visit With Uncle Walt
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Walt Disney was a virtual family member for many of us growing up in the 1950s and early '60s. Jimmie and his Mouseketeer friends provided us with entertainment each afternoon on The Mickey Mouse Club, and our families gathered in front of the television each Sunday evening to watch Disneyland (an always entertaining hour, the title of which changed several times after its 1954 debut). With a soft voice ...
A Walk In Jenna's Shoes
As pass holders to Disneyland I know there are times when we get a bit tired of the park when we have experienced the same rides and attractions for the millionth time around. If you have been reading any of past articles, you know how I feel about the subject. When I get these feelings I usually stay away from the park until I have to go back, and when I say "have to go back" I mean I literally "Have to ...
A Walk In The Park
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In honor of the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's birth-on December 5, 1901--Disneyland in Anaheim and Walt Disney World in Orlando are offering a variety of special year long activities: DISNEYLAND, A Walk in Walt's Footsteps : is a two-and-a- half-hour guided tour that shows the park(from the perspective of the man who loved it most. $16 for adults; $14 for children (in addition to park ...
A Walk Through Sleeping Beauty Castle
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Sleeping Beauty has long been a favorite Disney classic of mine. I remember the first time I watched the movie on VHS that my mom bought me at Blockbuster. I immediately fell in love with Aurora singing “Once Upon a Dream” and have been smitten with the film and music ever since. Once Disneyland reopens I know one of the first attractions I will head to is the castle. The Sleeping Beauty ...
A Walk with Walt
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Where in Disneyland was Walt's private apartment? Did he have a favorite horse on King Arthur Carrousel? Is there really a basketball court in the Matterhorn? For the ultimate scoop on Walt's life and his thinking behind the creation of Disneyland, nothing beats the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. Now is an especially appropriate time to take the walk as we approach the one hundredth anniversary of ...
A Wonderful World
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The saga of the aging cinema star is a part of American folklore-the heady upward trajectory, the few brief seasons on the summit, and the swift descent to "B" pictures, guest appearances, and, of late, odd jobs on television. Next October the saga will be re-enacted again, but with one big difference. The old friend taking a job as TV master of ceremonies will have all his joints in top working order, and ...
ABC Orders Big Thunder Pilot Based On Disneyland Ride
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Pilot season is now going strong at the networks, and Variety reports that ABC ordered four new drama pilots today, including Big Thunder, based on Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain ride. Written by Jason Fuchs (Ice Age: Continental Drift) and executive produced by Chris Morgan (writer of most of The Fast and the Furious films), Big Thunder is described by Variety as involving "a 19th century New ...
ABC TV To Air Disneyland 60th Anniversary Special Next Month
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With his famed red piano shining as brightly as the Sleeping Beauty Castle behind him, Elton John took to the stage performing his most popular Disney hit in front of a raucous - mostly surprised - crowd of park-goers. The multi Grammy Award winner showed up with a choir Friday night at Disneyland, singing "Circle of Life" from "The Lion King" and a song from his upcoming album, "Wonderful Crazy ...
