The Master Of The Magic Kingdom Reminisces About 38-Year Disney Career
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Last week, Disneyland President Jack Lindquist confirmed that he would step down Nov. 18, Mickey Mouse's 65th birthday. Lindquist, 66, began his Disney career in 1955, the year the park opened. Starting as the park's first advertising manager, the jovial Lindquist rose in 1990 to become its first and only president.
"I don't think California realizes the debt of gratitude we owe him," said John ...
The Matterhorn Is Down But Not Out At Disneyland
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The Matterhorn Bobsleds are now closed for refurbishment through June 14, 2012. Scaffolding has gone up around the iconic Disneyland mountain, which first opened to the public in 1959.
In addition to the cosmetic rehab, several changes are in store. New bobsleds will be installed, eliminating the "straddle or be straddled" old style seating. They will be returning to the individual seats (as it was ...
The Merriest Of Holiday Celebrations Make Spirits Brighter Than Ever At Disneyland Resort
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New Entertainment, Cherished Favorites, More Magic and a 'Reawakened' Sleeping Beauty Castle Bring Holidays to Life
When it comes to celebrating the magic and sparkle of the holidays, there's no place like the Disneyland Resort, the Merriest Place on Earth. From November 21 through January 4, the annual Disneyland Resort holiday celebration will be more dazzling than ever.
Guests will enjoy the ...
The Mice That Roared
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They weren't exactly Hollywood's idea of a power couple: Disney CEO Robert Iger, once derided as a "suit," and studio chief Richard Cook, who got his start as a monorail operator at Disneyland. But last week Iger and Cook dropped a bomb bigger than any of the explosions you'll see in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." Just weeks after the record-smashing release of the sequel-soon to be the ...
The Mickey Mouse Club Turns 50 At Disneyland
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Disneyland is celebrating another "golden" milestone -- The Mickey Mouse Club is turning 50! Ten of the original Mouseketeers will be on hand at the Happiest Place on Earth for the celebration: Sherry Alberoni, Sharon Baird, Bobby Burgess, Lonnie Burr, Tommy Cole, Cheryl Holdridge, Cubby O'Brien, Karen Pandleton, Doreen Tracey and Mary Espinosa will once again put on their famous Mouse Ears.
The ...
The Mountain Comes To Disneyland
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Six spectacular new attractions, built at a cost of 5.5 million dollars, are nearing completion at Disneyland, the greatest enlargement of the Anaheim Fairyland of entertainment since its opening in 1955.
Beginning in June, Disneyland visitors from all over the world will race in speedy bobsleds from the top of snow-capped Matterhorn Mountain; dive in submarines to the mysterious depths of the Seven ...
The Much Missed Restaurant Disneyland Tore Down To Build Star Wars Galaxys Edge
Ask any longtime Disneyland fan which food they miss the most, and you 'll likely get one of two answers: They 'll say the McDonald 's Fry Wagon, or they 'll say Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue. When it closed, so went the only family-style table service restaurant at the resort. Nowhere on Disneyland property has offered anywhere close to the all-you-can-eat model for that kind of value since it shut ...
The New Magic Man
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When Walt Disney died in 1966, the big rumor was that he'd been cryogenically frozen, waiting to be revived for that great big beautiful tomorrow promised in the theme song of his "Carousel of Progress" attraction. It was just an urban legend. But if it were true, the first person in line to greet the thawed genius would certainly be Pixar's John Lasseter, whose computer-generated films-from "Toy Story" to ...
The New Roller Coasters: Thrills, Chills And Few Spills
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Roller coasters are supposed to scare us. They wrap our non-phobic, perfectly natural fears of heights, speed and being turned upside down 200 feet above the cotton-candy stand into one vomit-inducing 2-minute thrill ride -- and then they set us back on the ground, pat us on the back, and tell us where the end of the line is so we can go again.
And most of us thrill-seeking Americans -- especially the ...
The Old West Lives On
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Whenever you travel in Southern California (and throughout the Southwest) the Old West is still very much alive.
You'll find the Old West in the chain of missions built by the Spanish Franciscan Padres in the 18th century, stretching from the Mexican border to Northern California at Knott's Berry Farm, where you can pan for "gold" or wander down the Main Street of Ghost Town... and at Disneyland ...
The Pirates of the Caribbean's 40th Anniversary at Disneyland
March 18, 1967 Disneyland, Anaheim California -
The day dawned gray and drizzly, and the passing of Walt Disney was still felt sharply, yet the Press, tourist and locals turned out for Disneyland's newest Attraction - the long awaited and much anticipated "Pirates of the Caribbean". This was the first big event at Disneyland since it's founders death, and was marked with a celebratory feeling among ...
The Princess And The Frog Riverboat Show Coming To Disneyland, Disney World
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Disneyland and Walt Disney World plan to add a Mardi Gras-style musical cavalcade called Tiana's Showboat Jubilee for the 2009 holiday season, according to theme park officials.
The jazz-infused "riverboat extravaganza" will debut at Disney World on Oct. 26 and Disneyland on Nov. 6. Both shows will run through Jan. 3.
Tied to the upcoming "The Princess and the Frog" hand-drawn animated movie, Tiana's ...
The Problem With Star Tours In A Galaxys Edge World
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I remember riding Star Tours as a child. It must have been 1999 or so. It was my first taste of what a Star Wars ride could be. Sitting on a makeshift starship. Watching the action of a Star Wars battle unfold before your eyes. It was well worth every moment of it. I still remember how excited I felt about that ride.
Fast forward to 2020 and my thoughts could not be more different. If Star ...
The Realities Of Fantasyland
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Despite the note of triumph sounded in the subtitle of Neal Gabler's new biography of Walt Disney, this is a book riddled with ambivalence.
In his own lifetime, Disney was hailed as a creative genius, awarded honorary degrees by Harvard and Yale, presented the Medal of Freedom by Lyndon Johnson (Disney wore a Goldwater button under his lapel at the ceremony), and given more than 30 Academy Awards. And ...
The Spirit of Pocahontas Takes Center Stage at Disneyland
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Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the Blue Corn Moon or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?" No? Well, that's probably because you haven't seen The Spirit of Pocahontas, the new live stage show opening today at Disneyland.
Set to hit the Videopolis stage on the same day as Disney's 33rd full-length animated feature, Pocahontas, hits the screen, The Spirit of Pocahontas tells the timeless, ...
The Tackiest Place On Earth
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Outside Disneyland, beyond the blooming oleanders that hide the barbed-wire fence that delineates the Happiest Place on Earth, you can find what might be called, in Disney-ese, Realityland. It is a land of neon and kitsch, a cottage industry of knock-off entrepreneurs that Walt Disney in a sense created and that Walt Disney, it's said, loathed.
Outside is where you find motels like the Ivanhoe and Rip ...
The Turnstiles Keep Rolling At Disneyland
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There are classified secrets and there are Disney secrets. The only difference is that when spilling a secret can make a few bucks, it's either espionage or a Disney media event.
Such was the case in Anaheim this past Sunday. A woman named Minnie - last name, NOT Mouse - shows up at Disneyland. She's immediately showered with her 15 minutes of fame and lots of prizes. The reason: The park was ready to ...
The World's Saddest People Visit The World's Happiest Place
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Since 1999, goths, industrial fans, and other members of "Dark Alternative Subculture" have descended on Disneyland every August for Bats Day In The Fun Park, which started as a day-long outing to the amusement park and has since evolved into a three-day event that bills itself as "the premier event on the West Coast, if not the world, for the Gothic and Industrial subculture of all ages." We sent comedy ...
The Worst Disneyland Ride Of All Time
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Our best Disneyland ride post got a nice response, along with a gratuitous dissertation-quality analysis of guys with moustaches who wear white tank tops and jeans shorts. Have to say, that was a nice little detour ...
Today, let's talk about the worst Disneyland rides. For my list, I'm not going to factor in the age of the ride, the potential danger or the annoying souvenir stands at the end. I'm ...
Theme Is Summer Fun
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Aaah, summer. Backyard barbecues, playing outdoors, days at the beach.
And as the weather heats up, so do the new thrills at Southern California theme parks.
Aat Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, visitors can go into the deep with a special exhibit charting the course of the blue whale.
Disneyland, as practically everyone knows, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with new rides, ...
Theme Park Shoot Out
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The sign out front says it's "The Happiest Place on Earth." These days, Disneyland, Walt Disney Co.'s Anaheim (Calif.) flagship, is also one of the most construction-happy places on earth. Workers in bulldozers crisscross the 100 acres that used to be a parking lot. Outside, streets are being widened, snarling traffic in all directions. Signs tell passersby that a new Disneyland Resort is in the making. ...
Theme Parks Know Halloween Is Big Business. Even Disney Has Decided To Go All Out.
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More than 30 years ago, a few guys who worked in Knott's Berry Farm's Ghost Town thought it would be fun to throw on costumes for Halloween and scare some unsuspecting guests.
"It wasn't really thought out," admitted park spokeswoman Michele Wischmeyer. "It was just last minute."
Since that first year in 1973, when Sinister Seymour served as Knott's inaugural "Ghost Host," the Knott's Scary Farm ...
Themed Entertainment Designers From Disney, Knott's, Efteling And More Preach The Importance Of Play Over Technology
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The Disneyland Resort played host to the usual tuneful pirates and hitchhiking ghosts this past weekend, but what visitors may not have noticed among all those carelessly pushed strollers were the 800 or so artists gathered for one of the most respected awards ceremonies of the themed entertainment industry.
The honorees were announced months ago, so there was no envelope-opening suspense when ...
There Are A Flurry Of Secrets Behind Fake Snow
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The nightly holiday show on Disneyland 's Main Street culminates with soaring music and fireworks exploding high over Sleeping Beauty Castle.
But the faces in the crowds really light up when the music fades and something unexpected gently falls from the sky.
A toddler, sitting on her father 's shoulders, spreads her arms and exclaims, “It 's snow!”
Spoiler alert: It ...
There Are Rules To Obey When Going On A Disneyland Trip
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We said we'd wait at least another decade before going back to Disneyland after the last exhausting visit, but there we were, only two years later, going back.
Such a reversal is not without precedent. How many women, after giving birth, say they're never going to have another child, and then they go ahead and do it again anyway? Disneyland, like reproduction, is something that just has to be done. ...
There Are Ways To Beat The Line At Star Tours
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The revamped Star Tours attraction at Disneyland is subtitled "The Adventures Continue," which is appropriate since right now just getting in is an adventure.
Star Tours officially opened last week and has been generating lines that grow like the price of gold or oil.
On Monday, the wait in the standby line reached 210 minutes, which makes one wonder what it will be like on Saturday.
But ...
There Is 1 Wild Ride At Disneyland That Even Freaks Out Employees
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There is 1 Wild Ride at Disneyland That Even Freaks Out Employees
For riders who pay close attention to the themes of a ride, Mr. Toad's Wild ride can be pretty jarring. Luckily, most child passengers don't realize what exactly is going on (a sinful journey complete with terrorizing townspeople, drunk driving, and a trip to hell). But, even for adults, the ride can leave a lasting impression.
1. Mr. ...
There Is A Secret Cemetery At Haunted Mansion And It Is Not The One You Are Thinking Of
The Matterhorn Bobsleds may have a hidden basketball court, but there 's no other ride in Disneyland that has more secrets than the Haunted Mansion. The 1969 ride, one of the last overseen (at least in part) by Walt Disney himself, is full of surprises and strange legends.
But a secret cemetery? That was a new one, even for me.
There 's a secret “servant 's entrance” that lets ...
There Is A Secret Menu Just For Disneyland High Rollers
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When Disneyland first opened in 1955, an admission ticket cost one dollar. Today, it is nearly 100 times that amount, and it's easy to spend a lot more. For those truly committed to luxury, for whom price is no object, there is a secret menu just for Disneyland high rollers.
The masterminds behind the park have set up separate offices that keep celebrity visits under wraps and visiting dignitaries ...
There Is No Place Like Disneyland
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I guess you could say that for my age, I am a well-traveled individual. I've visited Italy, France, Austria and most of the East Coast, and I've even been on a cross-country road trip. I've lived in Germany, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina and now, Washington. Despite all of the cool places I've traveled, I've never once set foot in California until this past spring break.
Not only did I ...
There Is Something Weird About The Way Disneyland Staff Point
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If you've ever been to Disneyland, you'll have really felt for the staff - or cast members, as they're called - because let's face it, they have a tough job.
Disneyland might be the most magical place on earth for kids (and I'm including big kids here), but for the staff, who have to constantly smile, be happy and act as though they can't hear kids screaming the entire time, it's a hard gig.
On ...
