Whenever I am at Disneyland these day and anyone asks me if I have an annual pass, I have to stifle the impulse to say, “No. Nobody does.” The Annual Pass program is no more. Today, guests who carry “Magic Keys” are commonly referred to as Annual Passholders. But they’re not. Really.

Thirty years ago, I was an Annual Passholder. And for a couple of years in the mid-90s, there was a pretty special perk that was offered to us: Annual Passholder parties. This month, we will be looking at one that was held over two nights in February of 1996.

The ticket was not fancy. But the price point was awfully good for an “after-hours” event that ran from 8 pm to 1 am in the dead of winter. After all the rest of the guests had gone home, we were welcomed into a decorated Main Street USA.

The theme of the night was Sorcerer Mickey. A specially created image was available on t-shirts, sweatshirts, a jeans jacket, a pin-back button, and a wristwatch. There were also a small number of limited-edition watches that sold out rather quickly.

Most of the attractions were open, with the exception of the ones that were closed for refurbishment during this traditionally “slow period” at Disneyland. One of the fun enhancements that evening was the Jungle Cruise “Search for Simba.” Cast members hid plush Simba toys from the recent hit movie The Lion King throughout the attraction. As it was an after-dark party, guests were issued flashlights and encouraged to help Simba “find himself” along the jungle rivers of the world. My favorite was the one residing in the open mouth of a hippo.

Specialty foods were offered in sampler sizes, as well as in the usual food locations. Characters were available for photos, and cast members offered displays of past and upcoming attractions and enhancements.

The highlight of the evening for me was the opportunity to go backstage at the Country Bear Playhouse and then walk across the stage with the whole cast, out and in their places. Best of all, photos were allowed.

Backstage, it was possible to get very close to the performers in the side stages. I thought it was interesting that each of the bears was wearing a label with their name. This is Liver Lips (the one on the right).

The stage looks very different from the wings. The scenery was painted on a combination of hard flats and traditional canvas drops. Anything the audience cannot see is left untreated. Yes, that is bare drywall on the far side of the stage.

A cast member was strategically stationed to snap a photo with the full cast, if any guests wanted one. I wanted one. Note, again, that all the bears are wearing labels. I guess that was so guests could tell them all apart.

All too soon, the visit was over. There was quite a line for this opportunity, so cast members formally but politely kept it moving along. I did manage one more shot of the band, as seen from stage right.

Highlighting the evening was a pyrotechnic display on the Fantasmic! stage in the Rivers of America. We did not get Sorcerer Mickey defeating the dragon, but we did get our own specialty firework reading “Annual Passholder/96 Party.”

This was not the first Annual Passholder party, nor would it be the last. That distinction was reserved for a somewhat infamous event that took place just over a year later, in May of 1997.

This event was intended to offer a “first look” at Disneyland’s new nighttime “streetacular” (because it was NOT just a parade!), Light Magic. Why Paul Pressler and his team thought it was a good idea to preview an untested (and, as it turns out, unready) new show in front of Disneyland’s most demanding audience is anybody’s guess. The first false note was in Pressler’s welcome, in which he stated we would be seeing a “dress rehearsal” of a “show in progress.” Around me, people began muttering that they had not bought tickets for a rehearsal! There were delays… There were mishaps… and there were refunds. A lot of refunds, as it turned out. Within a few days of the debacle, every guest who had attended received an overnight letter of apology, along with that refund (but only for those who had not queued up at City Hall on the night of the event).

And that was the end of the Annual Passholder parties. Excuses were offered, but there was always a lingering suspicion that it had been determined that the “APs” (Annual Passholders) were perhaps too volatile and unappreciative to warrant more special events. The fall of 1997 came and went without a party. But over the holidays, a curious pin appeared in cast member trading lanyards. One that apparently had been ordered in advance, but unused for the premiere of Disneyland’s newest offering, it’s a small world holiday. Today it is an artifact of the Annual Passholder party that never was, thirty years ago at Disneyland.