There have been many magical moments through the nearly two decades of Daps Magic that are core memories. As I sit here thinking about them, I think of meeting Richard Sherman for the first time, the first day of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, my first press event. All of these moments were absolutely magical and I smile thinking of them. Another one that pops into my head as we head into the Halloween season is the first Oogie Boogie Bash after the pandemic. It was a fantastic night with great people and it ended with the exclamation point of a dry thunderstorm lighting up the night over the Disneyland Resort.
This thunderstorm wasn’t RIGHT over the Disneyland Resort but all around it. If my memory serves, it was mostly to the south and to the east. As the Oogie Boogie Bash wrapped up, I found myself running to Carthay Circle to attempt and get a photo of the lightning and the Carthay Circle Restaurant. I unfortunately didn’t have a tripod with me but I was determined. After all, how often do we get lightning in Southern California!? I set my camera to shoot as long as I dared without a tripod, took a deep breath, steadied myself, and did my best to get a shot. Shockingly enough, I ended up getting a couple of photos of the lightning behind this icon in Disney California Adventure.
We also filmed this iconic moment during the end of Oogie Boogie Bash at Disney California Adventure. This really was an incredible ending to a fantastic night, that even included free churros being handed to us as lightning lit up the sky. I would tend to guess if you asked anyone in our party for favorite memories from different Disney Halloween parties, this one would probably be brought up.
While these kind of moments happen at Walt Disney World Resort fairly often, it is very rare for the Disneyland Resort to get lightning. It is even more rare that it comes without rain. Making things even MORE rare is me being there and being able to get a picture of it! This was such a fun moment and it makes me smile every time I think about it.
Have you experienced lightning at the Disneyland Resort? How about another Disney theme park? Did you get photos of it? Share your thoughts, memories, and experiences in the comments below!
