Disneyland Memories and Appreciation

[SuddenStorm]

Over the last two weeks I've grown to really miss good ole' fashioned Disneyland. Looking back at my many visits in 2019, it seems so surreal now with all of the unpleasantness surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and controversial announcements made over the last year. For many, 2020 is going to represent the year the 'magic' died, or at least was changed. It's hard to preserve the mystique and decades of Disney PR surrounding the Cast Members when they're losing their jobs by the thousands. It's impossible to maintain an illusion of Disneyland taking place in another reality when Covid safety reminders will be everywhere.

I've found certain memories, images, and park audio really trigger my appreciation and nostalgia for Disneyland- especially with Christmas around the corner. I thought it'd be fun for people to share their traditions, memories, and favorite aspects of the park. There's something comforting about the themes of Disneyland and Christmas, especially with all the craziness going on.

I'll start- last year I fell in love with it's a small world holiday. They enhanced it last year, and honestly, it blew me away. Listening to the soundtrack now is especially delightful. The themes of Disneyland, it's a small world, and Christmas/the Holidays mesh perfectly- and it's a small world holiday integrates the holiday theme perfectly. Sometimes Disneyland at Christmas feels like a gaudy corporate affair designed to sell merchandise, but that ride does it right.

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

I'll start- last year I fell in love with it's a small world holiday. They enhanced it last year, and honestly, it blew me away. Listening to the soundtrack now is especially delightful. The themes of Disneyland, it's a small world, and Christmas/the Holidays mesh perfectly- and it's a small world holiday integrates the holiday theme perfectly. Sometimes Disneyland at Christmas feels like a gaudy corporate affair designed to sell merchandise, but that ride does it right.

I couldn’t agree more. For me that ride does it right all the time. A true 20th century work of art. Helps me forget about life’s daily obstacles, as it should. It’s been strange being stuck at home, as it has for all of us. I’ve had time to think to myself about the current state of TWDC, and it’s been tough. Before the pandemic, I was a bit more... blind to the current state of the company and their ways of thinking. What can I say, I’m a hopeless optimist. It’s become clear to me that the execs just don’t care about greenlighting anything original anymore, and they won’t hesitate to bulldoze my favorite attractions if they’re not turning a profit for merch. At least it seems that way...

With that said, I do really miss the park, despite the current state of TWDC. I can’t really pinpoint a certain aspect I miss the most about DLR, but one thing that comes to mind are early mornings and late nights in the park, sitting in the Small World mall eating a Turkey Leg. Good times.

 

[SuddenStorm]

With that said, I do really miss the park, despite the current state of TWDC. I can’t really pinpoint a certain aspect I miss the most about DLR, but one thing that comes to mind are early mornings and late nights in the park, sitting in the Small World mall eating a Turkey Leg. Good times.

Agreed! Nothing says Disneyland like the area around it's a small world. That area- with the Matterhorn and small world and Fantasyland and the train really encapsulate old fashioned Disneyland. There's a level of charm present in that area the rest of the park doesn't have.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Before Disney started disappointing me, I used to love showing up at the park between 6 and 7pm with my sister to have dinner at Plaza Inn, hop on a ride or two, possibly watch the fireworks or Fantasmic!, then head home.

Speaking of fireworks, I really miss Magical and RDCT.

 

[Homemade Imagineering]

I really miss Magical

SAME! Gosh, the soundtrack to Magical was so beautiful! I loved every second of it! I wish they’d bring it back in the summers again.

 

[Rich T]

For me, Disneyland has been mismanaged for so many years that the “magic” was killed off long before— (Airhorn sound effect) — Okay, I just censored myself and deleted a huge rant about the WDC’s direction. This is a positive thread.

My best memories of DL all involve being there with family and friends. It was all of us enjoying a magical park that was functioning exactly as Walt intended it: an affordable, more-than—your-money’s-worth kaleidoscopic smorgasbord of inspiring, eye-openjng surprises and entertainment for all ages. It was taking a pocketful of pennies, nickels and dimes into the amazing Penny Arcade and spending an hour discovering the wonders of long-gone inventors and filmmakers still alive through the magic of wonderful, beautiful old contraptions.

It was the quiet, mysterious awesomeness of nightime Frontierland in the time before Fantasmic.

But, as for things that still exist...

It’s the Monorail honking. It’s Thurl Ravenscroft booming, “I AM TANGAROA!!!” It’s the smell of PotC. HM’s entry music. The elephant bathing pool. Big Thunder Trains tooting as they whip around Spiral Butte.

But, yeah, most of all it’s Fantasyland. The dark rides, Small World and Storybook Land. As long as FL retains all that history and pre-Mermaid classic Disney charm, the park still has a beating heart.

 

[mickEblu]

Over the last two weeks I've grown to really miss good ole' fashioned Disneyland. Looking back at my many visits in 2019, it seems so surreal now with all of the unpleasantness surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and controversial announcements made over the last year. For many, 2020 is going to represent the year the 'magic' died, or at least was changed. It's hard to preserve the mystique and decades of Disney PR surrounding the Cast Members when they're losing their jobs by the thousands. It's impossible to maintain an illusion of Disneyland taking place in another reality when Covid safety reminders will be everywhere.

I've found certain memories, images, and park audio really trigger my appreciation and nostalgia for Disneyland- especially with Christmas around the corner. I thought it'd be fun for people to share their traditions, memories, and favorite aspects of the park. There's something comforting about the themes of Disneyland and Christmas, especially with all the craziness going on.

I'll start- last year I fell in love with it's a small world holiday. They enhanced it last year, and honestly, it blew me away. Listening to the soundtrack now is especially delightful. The themes of Disneyland, it's a small world, and Christmas/the Holidays mesh perfectly- and it's a small world holiday integrates the holiday theme perfectly. Sometimes Disneyland at Christmas feels like a gaudy corporate affair designed to sell merchandise, but that ride does it right.

IASW holiday is the best overlay at the park by a mile. I actually like it more than the standard ride experience. And last year they really beefed it up with decorations everywhere, all of those archways you go under and all the new scents. Bonus points for actually only being around for 2 months during the appropriate season unlike its ugly step sister in NOS. IASW Holiday is a shot of joy and really gets you in the Christmas spirit.

Also @SuddenStorm to cure some of the Disneyland, 2020 and Covid blues I’ve been watching some ride throughs on YouTube VR on my Occulus Quest 2. Or you can type in nearly any major city or landmark in the search bar and have your own version of Soarin Around the World at home.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I think my favorite Christmas moment in recent years was the night I first saw the Christmas Mad T Party. They redecorated the area and added 'icicles' and 'snowflakes' and hearing Alice and Hatter rocking out to fave Christmas tunes (yes, including "All I Want For Christmas Is You") was absolutely delightful to me.

Granted, it was still bested by the Halloween Mad T Party which was probably my favorite park show ever, which was spooky and fun and included great moments like the cast singing "This is Halloween" and doing the Time Warp (now a Disney classic! lol).

But since I know those won't be popular choices here - nor would my favorite park Marvel memories - instead I'll just think back to Halloween and Christmas 2019, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion by bringing out not just Constance (who was fun to interact with) but the Hitchhiking Ghosts as meet & greet characters. Incredible experience.

I miss the seasonal decorations everywhere from Main Street USA to Cars Land.

I miss the seasonal treats to try and my favorite soups at the wharf which tend to be in the fall and winter.

I miss the smell of the gingerbread house in the Haunted Mansion during Halloween and Christmas.

But most of all, I miss the Cast Members. The ones I see regularly and am welcomed by on my repeat visits. And the ones I see occasionally but still have smiles of recognition. And the ones I may never have a direct interaction with but still made somebody's day better by being there.

Disneyland is a magical place. But the Cast Members are the source of that magic for me and I miss them more than anything else.

 

[LastoneOn]

/insert global like for all previous

 

[SuddenStorm]

I think my favorite Christmas moment in recent years was the night I first saw the Christmas Mad T Party. They redecorated the area and added 'icicles' and 'snowflakes' and hearing Alice and Hatter rocking out to fave Christmas tunes (yes, including "All I Want For Christmas Is You") was absolutely delightful to me.

Granted, it was still bested by the Halloween Mad T Party which was probably my favorite park show ever, which was spooky and fun and included great moments like the cast singing "This is Halloween" and doing the Time Warp (now a Disney classic! lol).

But since I know those won't be popular choices here - nor would my favorite park Marvel memories - instead I'll just think back to Halloween and Christmas 2019, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Haunted Mansion by bringing out not just Constance (who was fun to interact with) but the Hitchhiking Ghosts as meet & greet characters. Incredible experience.

The Mad T Party was a favorite among my friends in high school. Sure, there's those of us that want old fashioned traditional Disneyland experiences... the marching band, dapper dans, and Lincoln- but there's a definite market for more up beat and 'hip' Disney experiences geared towards a younger crowd.

Perhaps my favorite Hollywood attraction was the Frozen show. I only saw Aladdin a few times, so I didn't have the attachment to it many have. While not perfect, I was blown away by the quality of the show and performers- especially when considering it was included with park admission.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

The Mad T Party was a favorite among my friends in high school. Sure, there's those of us that want old fashioned traditional Disneyland experiences... the marching band, dapper dans, and Lincoln- but there's a definite market for more up beat and 'hip' Disney experiences geared towards a younger crowd.

I will readily admit that Disney struggles with 'hip'. lol And when they get it wrong, it's... yikes. lol

But I think they nailed it with both ElecTRONica and The Mad T Party. For ElecTRONica, they absolutely killed it with the theming. It was incredible to walk 'into the grid'. For Mad T, though, I return to my eternal theme: it was all about the cast.

I do think Disney's focus should always be family-appealing. But in those two instances (and the bands that used to play at Tomorrowland Terrace), they got it so right for the 'big kids', too.

 

[Mac Tonight]

Back in 2017, I took a course in Theme Park design taught by a former Imagineer. It was an evening class and since the parks were within 10 miles of campus, I made it a tradition to end my nights there.

Learning and studying the parks design and then going to see it first hand really opened my eyes to the magic behind the magic. If anything, it helped enhance my already deep love for Disneyland.

And the tour of Imagineering Anaheim as a class field trip was pretty rad too

 

[SuddenStorm]

Back in 2017, I took a course in Theme Park design taught by a former Imagineer. It was an evening class and since the parks were within 10 miles of campus, I made it a tradition to end my nights there.

Learning and studying the parks design and then going to see it first hand really opened my eyes to the magic behind the magic. If anything, it helped enhance my already deep love for Disneyland.

And the tour of Imagineering Anaheim as a class field trip was pretty rad too

It's amazing how that works right? I wasn't fortunate to attend a college that had anything half as cool as a course on themed design given from a former Imagineer- but the Season Pass Podcast and Themed Attraction Podcast are basically college level seminars in themed entertainment and must listens for anyone with an interest in Disneyland. Even their interviews with 'lesser known' designers end up being as amazing as their interviews with the legends.

Themed design is something Disneyland does better then anywhere. In an interview Tony talked about the importance of always leaving something that was there before when designing something new for the park- and that's something that Disneyland has done incredibly well through 65 years of rethemes, land overhauls, and refurbishments. Some of it is obvious (and advertised) like the old Rainbow Ridge mining town, or the Rufus snore. But there's a ton of building facades and design cues that are remarkably unchanged over decades that often go unnoticed.

It's amazing how consistent the park remains when you consider how often things are repainted or replaced or redone. That cigar store Indian on Main Street is not the same one from the '50s. But this one looks just like it, and in photos you couldn't tell. That Big Thunder Mining town was rebuilt in 2014, but Disneyland fans who've been going since the days of the Mine Train would never be able to tell.

The fact that Disneyland functions as a time capsule- even though it changes there's always a ton that stays the same, even if you don't notice that something has stayed the same, that contributes greatly to the feelings of comfort people feel while going to the park over a lifetime.

 

[Mac Tonight]

It's amazing how that works right? I wasn't fortunate to attend a college that had anything half as cool as a course on themed design given from a former Imagineer- but the Season Pass Podcast and Themed Attraction Podcast are basically college level seminars in themed entertainment and must listens for anyone with an interest in Disneyland. Even their interviews with 'lesser known' designers end up being as amazing as their interviews with the legends.

Themed design is something Disneyland does better then anywhere. In an interview Tony talked about the importance of always leaving something that was there before when designing something new for the park- and that's something that Disneyland has done incredibly well through 65 years of rethemes, land overhauls, and refurbishments. Some of it is obvious (and advertised) like the old Rainbow Ridge mining town, or the Rufus snore. But there's a ton of building facades and design cues that are remarkably unchanged over decades that often go unnoticed.

It's amazing how consistent the park remains when you consider how often things are repainted or replaced or redone. That cigar store Indian on Main Street is not the same one from the '50s. But this one looks just like it, and in photos you couldn't tell. That Big Thunder Mining town was rebuilt in 2014, but Disneyland fans who've been going since the days of the Mine Train would never be able to tell.

The fact that Disneyland functions as a time capsule- even though it changes there's always a ton that stays the same, even if you don't notice that something has stayed the same, that contributes greatly to the feelings of comfort people feel while going to the park over a lifetime.

The older I get, the more content I become sometimes to just simply walk around the park and admire my surroundings. Back in my younger days, I was definitely more ride obsessed, and felt the need to not "waste time" by just walking around or enjoying a leisurely pretzel along Main St.

But now, simple pleasures of the park are where it's at for me. Don't get me wrong, I still ride my rides, but now, an evening trip to eat dinner on the upper deck of Hungry Bear looking over ROA and letting the rest of life fade away for a bit is almost worth the cost of the AP.

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

Will never forget my first trip as a little boy in the late 80's. That trip I got to experience Pirates of the Carribean for the first time and Haunted Mansion for the first time. Got to ride em both with my grandparents who are no longer with us. What I wouldn't give to go back in time and relive those first rides. That's not a lot to ask is it?

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

I've posted these before I think, but these are the last photos I snapped onstage at DLR just days before the sudden closure. Seems so surreal now.

 

[mickEblu]

The older I get, the more content I become sometimes to just simply walk around the park and admire my surroundings. Back in my younger days, I was definitely more ride obsessed, and felt the need to not "waste time" by just walking around or enjoying a leisurely pretzel along Main St.

But now, simple pleasures of the park are where it's at for me. Don't get me wrong, I still ride my rides, but now, an evening trip to eat dinner on the upper deck of Hungry Bear looking over ROA and letting the rest of life fade away for a bit is almost worth the cost of the AP.

Definitely can relate. Every time I look back at a day at Disneyland, it’s the time in between the rides that stick out. The time with friends n family sharing a meal at the Plaza Inn or Cafe Orleans. The chats in line or just walking around the park. The laughs in between the fast pass running or max pass planning. Of course sometimes something memorable happens on a ride too but it’s the stuff in between for me that always is the most memorable.

The older I get the more I appreciate all of the architecture, landscaping and atmosphere in general. All of these things spoke to me as a child too but I’m much more aware of it now. I was the kid herding a party of 10 to eat at Hungry Bear because it was my favorite atmosphere in the park.

 

[Disneyland68]

Aloha,

Been blessed with countless memories since 1968. However, my most favorite was experiencing my children's excitement rope dropping

DL and heading to PP in October, 2012. Priceless. My son Guy L III on the left and daughter Leilani on the right. Fantasyland straight ahead through the castle.

 

[mickEblu]

Will never forget my first trip as a little boy in the late 80's. That trip I got to experience Pirates of the Carribean for the first time and Haunted Mansion for the first time. Got to ride em both with my grandparents who are no longer with us. What I wouldn't give to go back in time and relive those first rides. That's not a lot to ask is it?

It’s nice that you have those memories. I’m really the original Disneyland Super fan in my family so my memories with grandparents aren’t ever at Disneyland. My grandmas are both still here but my grandpas have been gone for awhile. It wasn’t really their thing or my parents for that matter. Especially my dad. My mom would (and sometimes dad) and extended family would go once a year or so and many of the trips were taking family from out of the country. I’ve been going to DL since I was a toddler so I can’t really remember my first time. Just vague memories of being scared on POTC, watching Captain Eo, CBJ and America Sings, hearing the yeti howl near Alice in Wonderland below etc. Definitely remember always making my mom get some of those little figurines of the Disney characters on the way out near the entry tunnels. Those stores near the entry tunnels used to have bins filled with little pvc figurines of all the classic DIisney characters and Mickey and the gang. My favorite being the Captain Eo set I still have. Now it’s mostly bubble wands etc. Man, I let them off cheap. Those things probably didn’t cost more than a couple bucks. Now I can’t get out of the park without spending at least 30$ on some plastic junk for my son.

 

[SuddenStorm]

I quite enjoy A Christmas Fantasy Parade at night- it's one of only two parades I'll actually watch (the other is Paint The Night, though I did make a point to see MSEP a few times last fall). Such a delightful soundtrack, but I'd love for the floats to get some love. It's starting to get a little tired, a fresh coat of paint would do wonders for it.