When Did You First Visit Disneyland Websites?

[Anjin]

Two guests were killed due to Disneyland's negligent maintenance. In 1998 a guest was killed when the Sailing Ship Columbia tore a cleat off of the loading dock, striking the guest in the head. In 2003 a second guest was killed when a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad derailed. During that same time period Space Mountain also failed, resulting in its earlier than anticipated closure for replacement.

Of all the sins of the Pressler Era, this is what cemented it as the absolute nadir in the timeline of Disneyland. A company so beholden to the bottom line that their short-sightedness actually kills people will be a black eye that Mickey has to wear until the end of time.

 

[Darkbeer1]

I remember being online by 1996 because my work provided me with a 28K modem, soon upgraded to a 56K modem, but I had no idea how it worked or how to do it aside from the work functions. But I "lurked" on the alt.disney.disneyland message boards of the time. In about 1997 a friend explained it to me, and created an account on that old usenet forum via a separate WebTV account, and I was off and running.

I remember the mid 1990's more as a time when I would pour over the latest issue of The E Ticket Magazine, and then maybe read stuff other people were saying about it online. But once I got the hang of posting on the World Wide Web Information Superhighway around '96 or '97, there was no looking back.

The alt.disney.disneyland board led to Laughing Place, which led to Mouseinfo, which led to Miceage for a bit, which then led to here. And here I still am. Remind me again how I'm supposed to be getting paid for all this? And does anyone have the number to Payroll to ask about 20 years of back pay?

My first modem was a 300 baud, that used the handset of your phone, and then placed in two rubber cups. I loved upgrading to a 1200 baud that plugged directly into the telephone cable.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

It was 2002 when a friend first pulled up “Disneyland” on the net.
I was hooked. My own site didn’t debut until 2008 after I realized I had so much art and old maps and memorabilia I thought other geeks like me would want to see.

 

[LastoneOn]

It was Disboards, not sure when, has to be 15 years by now. We had very slow internet and so Disney.com was out. Still out because there isn't a graphic element in the world they don't like and try to load up to the page and that just drives me nuts.

 

[LastoneOn]

My first modem was a 300 baud, that used the handset of your phone, and then placed in two rubber cups. I loved upgrading to a 1200 baud that plugged directly into the telephone cable.

I miss the modem connect sounds, the flashing LEDs. Can get a bit of a fix from using a FAX but just not the same excitement.

 

[D.Silentu]

I happened to attend California Adventure's opening week, and though I was already a big Disneyland fan at that point, that visit is what prompted me to join Laughingplace. Posting there I went by the handle Brnard.

 

[TP2000]

I happened to attend California Adventure's opening week, and though I was already a big Disneyland fan at that point, that visit is what prompted me to join Laughingplace. Posting there I went by the handle Brnard.

Oh my gosh, I remember you under that handle!

LP was really great in the early 2000's. I enjoyed it immensely. It's amazing how it's all gone over there now. What is LP now even? It appears to be a weird bot-managed dumping ground of random marketing announcements and cheesy sales pitches for the latest Disney junk made in China. Blech.

 

[BrianLo]

It has taken me a while to try and piece it together. I was between various online "forum fandoms" from the late 90's onwards. That is what is really confusing because it doesn't feel like a discrete event discovering an online platform like I feel the rest of you experienced. Disney was not my first online fandom, but I was definitely smitten with Disneyworld (and Disney) from 1993...

I think I really remember being intrigued by Disneyland from the Mulan VHS, which would not have been localized in Eastern Canada and therefore held a DCA announcement advert. Disney was really just Florida for those on the East Coast. World had three parks by my first visit and Disneyland I don't think the average East Coaster knew existed and certainly did not think it pre-dated Florida.

We probably had the internet around 1993-4. I remember being discreetly enthralled with Windows 95 when it released and I certainly was not that old. We were probably first using the internet for Myst information or video game codes as children.

Somewhere along the line MSN messenger in 99 evolved into engaging in a Reality TV forum. I definitely became obsessed with Lost for a while by 2005.

The travel bug in my own adult life I believe set off in 2008 during a family cruise. Which segues to I must have started really following Disney around 2010 online. I think I must have read various boards and MiceAge for a couple of years before joining anywhere. Certainly I went to Tokyo in Spring 2011 and that was not on a whim, but I had not even bothered to actually join and comment on a Disney forum yet. Meanwhile I don't think I was truly paying attention for D23 2009. So 2010 seems right.

I was very engaged in reading DCA 2.0 updates prior to visiting DLR in August 2012. Which many seem to say was a pretty strong golden age between 2012-2016. I feel like that's how not highly the resort was seen outside of locals that I skipped over it for Tokyo first.

Micechat was my preferential "Disneyland" forum for a couple years, then I found this sub forum started to really take off. The rest is history.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I don't post anywhere else anymore for a variety of reasons. WDWMagic is the best hands down!

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Not anymore. This forum is atrocious now.

 

[LastoneOn]

Try posting a sincere honest factual appraisal of the situation vis a vis "how can we get Disney to change back to what we liked" It will be called "hilarious" and "pixie dust" and garner likes by the usual suspects.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I was born in the early 90s. Like many of you, I grew up heavily on Disney. I of course consumed Disney movies and television shows (including the classic, Walt-era ones) and frequented Disneyland a lot with my family. My mom always took us to the El Capitan Theatre to see new Disney movies, which was special. However, growing up in Southern California with an uncle who was head of security for the Walt Disney Studios allotted me privileges that the average Disney fan or person, for that matter, was shut out from. I have many memories of spending time doing absolutely nothing at the Studios; this didn’t matter to me, I just enjoyed being there. We were allowed to eat at the CM cafeteria on the lot as well, which was the best as a child because of the buffet-style option and what seemed to be a plethora of food. In addition, I attended many, non-public screenings and events for Disney movies and television shows, both at the Studios and other places around Los Angeles. Most of the celebrities I’ve met in my lifetime were met at these events. I had always been surrounded by Disney and never thought to find fellow fans to talk to. This changed after 2011.

In 2011, I was accepted into the Disney College Program. With the exception of a few D23 events and the 2009 D23 expo, I had never been around that many passionate Disney and Disneyland fans in my life. I went to class with them, lived with them, and worked with them. I had finally discovered a close-knit group of people who were just like me. Not only did they know Disney movies, television, Disneyland, etc., but they knew the history of the company as well, which is not typical of the general Disney fan, as we all know. In addition, I was experiencing Disneyland in ways that I never had before, both in good and bad ways.

After I left the program, I no longer had that community that I had grown used to (none of us did). I had a lot that I wanted to say and needed an outlet, another group of fans to talk to. I started searching for discussion forums and the rest is history.

 

[Mac Tonight]

I was born in the early 90s. Like many of you, I grew up heavily on Disney. I of course consumed Disney movies and television shows (including the classic, Walt-era ones) and frequented Disneyland a lot with my family. My mom always took us to the El Capitan Theatre to see new Disney movies, which was special. However, growing up in Southern California with an uncle who was head of security for the Walt Disney Studios allotted me privileges that the average Disney fan or person, for that matter, was shut out from. I have many memories of spending time doing absolutely nothing at the Studios; this didn’t matter to me, I just enjoyed being there. We were allowed to eat at the CM cafeteria on the lot as well, which was the best as a child because of the buffet-style option and what seemed to be a plethora of food. In addition, I attended many, non-public screenings and events for Disney movies and television shows, both at the Studios and other places around Los Angeles. Most of the celebrities I’ve met in my lifetime were met at these events. I had always been surrounded by Disney and never thought to find fellow fans to talk to. This changed after 2011.

In 2011, I was accepted into the Disney College Program. With the exception of a few D23 events and the 2009 D23 expo, I had never been around that many passionate Disney and Disneyland fans in my life. I went to class with them, lived with them, and worked with them. I had finally discovered a close-knit group of people who were just like me. Not only did they know Disney movies, television, Disneyland, etc., but they knew the history of the company as well, which is not typical of the general Disney fan, as we all know. In addition, I was experiencing Disneyland in ways that I never had before, both in good and bad ways.

After I left the program, I no longer had that community that I had grown used to (none of us did). I had a lot that I wanted to say and needed an outlet, another group of fans to talk to. I started searching for discussion forums and the rest is history.

I have quite a few fun memories of eating lunch at the Studio cafeteria particularly 2001-2005. I wonder if you and I were there at the same time! Even today, there is just something about walking those sidewalks between the many buildings that fills me with such inspiration that can't be matched anywhere else (outside of Disneyland maybe).

I joined this site (under a different username) sometime in 2017 during the heyday of SWL construction. There have been a lot of ups, and a few downs (namely the past 2 months), but having tried some of the other sites out there, I still find this one to be the best.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I have quite a few fun memories of eating lunch at the Studio cafeteria particularly 2001-2005. I wonder if you and I were there at the same time! Even today, there is just something about walking those sidewalks between the many buildings that fills me with such inspiration that can't be matched anywhere else (outside of Disneyland maybe).

I joined this site (under a different username) sometime in 2017 during the heyday of SWL construction. There have been a lot of ups, and a few downs (namely the past 2 months), but having tried some of the other sites out there, I still find this one to be the best.

I was definitely there during those years! It’s such a small world, I can bet we crossed paths!

The corn dogs there were the best, but then again, I was a kid lol. I bet they use frozen ones.

 

[Mac Tonight]

I was definitely there during those years! It’s such a small world, I can bet we crossed paths!

The corn dogs there were the best, but then again, I was a kid lol. I bet they use frozen ones.

For awhile I would just head straight to their Panda Express line. I was sad they got rid of it during a later remodel, but now I'm partial to their sandwich bar. The ABC Commissary is good too.

 

[Californian Elitist]

For awhile I would just head straight to their Panda Express line. I was sad they got rid of it during a later remodel, but now I'm partial to their sandwich bar. The ABC Commissary is good too.

I feel like every cafeteria has a Panda Express, especially on college campuses. They’re everywhere.

 

[Robbiem]

For me it was around early noughties. I had visited WDW in the 90s with my family and became a massive fan. We were members of the magic kingdom club and I used to love reading Disney news religiously when it arrived. Living in the UK it was exciting to get post from California!

Fast forward to around 2001/2 I was working away from home living on my own and quite lonely. After work I would stay in my office and surf the internet which was still exciting especially when you could follow the opening of DCA, TDS and WDSP from deepest wales!

 

[Okee68]

I'm a 2001-born zoomer, and despite not growing up with much Disney influence at all (I had basically never seen any of films or cartoons aside from The Jungle Book, Mulan, and Emperor's New Groove, all of which I happened to own on VHS), I was inspired to watch some four-part series of "Disneyland secrets" slideshow videos on YouTube after visiting WDW in 2012 (this remains by only in-person experience with any Disney park). These videos went over your usual hidden oddities, but also featured "then and now" comparisons of locations in the park. I've always sort of been fascinated with the concept of "what was there before", just in general, and I quickly became intrigued with Disneyland's early history (pre-1970s for the most part), especially concerning the original Fantasyland dark rides.

Soon, I began browsing Davelandweb (which is still the best and most comprehensive source on Disneyland history I know of) and Yesterland for photos and articles on all the old attractions, and I think my main pull was something that still holds 100% true to my interest in the park's history: the idea of a "pure" Disneyland from before any of the oldest major attractions were removed and before IP garbage started flooding the place. I pulled my very first all-nighters at ten years old reading Daveland articles and studying vintage photos, in fact, and piecing together the history of Disneyland became my main hobby for a good while. I loved researching all the minor attractions, such as "New Orleans Street" and Casa de Fritos in Frontierland, and all the countless exhibits at Tomorrowland from the 1950s, including those stupid corporate science showcases.

Until September of this year, I had not bothered to post on any Disney park forum because for whatever reason I never felt that they were a reliable or convenient source of new information (in my case, for the pre-1980s Fantasyland dark rides). However, once I discovered that a seven-year-old thread about the original, pre-1982 Alice in Wonderland dark ride was inexplicably still active and yielding many good answers to questions people were asking, I found a perfect opportunity to ask my own questions about the attraction and dump my own scans of the Alice article from the E-Ticket Magazine, which wasn't available online to my knowledge.