Category: 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
-
The Celebration USA! Parade – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Have I mentioned that back in the old days, say, thirty years ago, Disneyland used to put on a new daytime parade every single year, without giving a thought to the idea of keeping it around for three, five, or ten years more? Of course, everyone knew what to expect when night fell and catchy…
-
Whatever Happened to Port Disney? – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
July is, of course, an important month for fans of Disneyland. July 17 is the anniversary of the day that Walt’s dream was officially revealed to the public. July 18, by the way, is the actual opening day, but we won’t get into that. The events of July 17, 1991 were not as auspicious as…
-
Disneyland Honors the Men and Women of Desert Storm – Thirty Years Ago at Disneyland
This month’s entry is quite appropriate as we enter the Fourth of July weekend. Disneyland has never shied away from patriotic spectacle. Indeed, Walt Disney is quoted as saying, “If you could see in my eyes, the American flag is waving in both of them and my spine is growing this red, white and blue…
-
Introducing the Disneyland Resort! – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
When this blog began in January of 2020, I had no idea that taking “virtual visits” to Disneyland in the 1990s would become such an attractive idea. The “Disney Decade” began with soaring announcements and exciting expectations. For Disney fans the spring of 2021 is also marked with announcements and expectations. We can only hope…
-
Plane Crazy On Stage at Disney Afternoon Live!
Excited kids who flocked to Disneyland for the 1991 promotion of The Disney Afternoon could spend as much time as they liked exploring Afternoon Avenue and experiencing the Rescue Ranger Raceway and the Motor Boat Cruise Through Gummi Glen. As if that wasn’t enough excitement, there were the five daily performances (SIX on Saturday!) of…
-
The Disney Afternoon Live! – Thirty Years Ago at Disneyland
Thirty years ago at Disneyland the park launched a modest promotion that became one of their more fondly remembered events of the 1990s. The Disney Afternoon Live! (yes, the exclamation mark was officially part of the title) ran from March 15 through November 10 of 1991. It could be found in the area between Storybook…
-
A Leisurely Amble Around Disneyland: The Original – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Last month, you may recall, we learned that the 1991 Disneyland promotion was “Disneyland: The Original.” This month’s blog will follow that theme with a somewhat “original” amble around the park. These photos were taken days (and in some cases months) apart, but pretty much represent what Disneyland looked like in the early winter months…
-
An Original Idea for 1991 – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
1990 had been a memorable, event packed year for Disneyland. Kicking off on January 11, the 35th birthday of the park had driven attendance (and profits) to new heights. It was only natural that the powers-that-be at the top of the Walt Disney Company wanted to continue that success. But it must have been difficult…
-
Bring the Celebration Home – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Disneyland’s 35th anniversary year was coming to a close, and there was only one thing that could definitively draw the curtain on the Party Gras: the holidays. Christmas had been exuberantly celebrated at Disneyland from its very first year, and 1990 was no exception. Christmas is a season of giving, and Disneyland wanted to be…
-
Party Gras! Disneyland’s Official 35th Anniversary Parade! – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
To wind down this year’s columns for 30 Years Ago at Disneyland, we will look at something that was briefly covered all the way back in January. You will recall that on January 11, in addition to a glittering ceremony to kick off all the anniversary promotions, Disneyland also debuted a brand new parade. The…
-
Visiting Virtual Disneyland – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Even at my age, whenever September rolls around, I find myself with an odd, nagging feeling in the back of my mind. There’s something looming, something just around the corner. And I know what it is. It’s… Back to School. For students, spontaneous trips to the Magic Kingdom have to wait for next summer. And…
-
The Main Street Electrical Parade – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
The Greatest Nighttime Parade That Ever Rolled Down Main Street USA Over the last few months of covering Disneyland’s 35th birthday, you’ve heard a lot about the Party Gras Parade, and its haunting theme song that lingered on long after all the confetti had been swept away. But there was, of course, another parade running…
-
Happy Birthday Disneyland – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Happy birthday Disneyland! This is a greeting Disneyland fans hear a lot on July 17 every year (well, except for a few cranky die-hards who keep insisting that Disneyland’s REAL birthday is the public opening day, July 18). After the big “Ten-cennial” celebration in 1965, years in multiples of ten (and even five) became the…
-
Dick Tracy Starring in Diamond Double Cross – 30 Years Ago At Disneyland
If you have been reading this blog over the last few months, you will recall that in April I wrote about the closing of a popular stage show at the Videopolis Theater. One Man’s Dream had been in place for only a few months when it was shuttered, to make way for another show that…
-
Splashing into the 35th Anniversary – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Disneyland’s 35th Anniversary had everything, or so it would seem. There was a vivid logo and a boatload of merchandise covered with it. There was a brand new parade with a theme song that stayed stubbornly lodged in your memory for days. There were stage shows and promotions (they gave away a free car EVERY…
-
One Man’s Dream – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
I missed Videopolis by just a few weeks. Perhaps I should explain. This month’s entry is all about a stage show that was presented on the Videopolis Stage in the Winter of 1989 through the Spring of 1990. It closed on April 29. The stage was part of a larger venue called Videopolis. This area…
-
An Annual Pass, the Disney Decade and a Day at the Park – 30 Years Ago At Disneyland
After spending two months to cover a single day thirty years ago at Disneyland, this month’s entry will cover a lot more ground. In fact it will cover a month, a decade, and many, many years. The month is March 1990. We’ll take a look at what a typical day was like. The decade is…
-
Disneyland Debuts 35th Anniversary (Part Two) – 30 Years Ago in Disneyland
Last month’s entry covered the first part of January 11, 1990, the day that kicked off Disneyland’s 35th anniversary year. Before getting to the rest of that memorable day, I do want to clear up one detail. In the course of last month’s post I mentioned that former President Ronald Reagan’s appearance included snipers on…
-
Disneyland Debuts 35th Anniversary – 30 Years Ago in Disneyland
There could hardly be a more auspicious day to open a blog dedicated to the Disneyland of 30 years ago than January 11, 1990. I would like to say that I had carefully planned every detail of my visit that day, but that just wouldn’t be true. And I had no idea it would be…
-
Introducing 30 Years Ago in Disneyland!
One of my favorite things since starting DAPS MAGIC in 2004 has been the collection of amazing people I have been able to meet. Through the years I have met Disney legends, Muppets, incredible talent and entertainers, other Disney fans, and other members of the Disney media. The experiences and relationships that have grown out…