Category: Blogs
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Saying Goodbye to The Disney Afternoon Live! – Thirty Years Ago at Disneyland
Nine months into 1991, Disneyland (the Original) was starting to look ahead to the holidays, as well as at the now seven month old Disney Afternoon Live! promotion that still occupied Afternoon Avenue in front of it’s a small world. On September 8 Baloo’s Dressing Room closed, and on November 10 everything else followed, with…
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Agatha Harkness, Sid, and Cruella Arrive at Disneyland Resort for Oogie Boogie Bash
Three new villains arrived at the Disneyland Resort for the Oogie Boogie Bash this year. The three characters could be found in the middle of the treat trails built around their locations. Agatha Harkness was found at Avengers Campus where she took over the Ancient Sanctum. She told those wandering by that she had been…
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Pictorial: A Look at the First Day of Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort
Halloween Time arrived at the Disneyland Resort this year on Friday, September 3, 2021. This year it was extra special as it not only marked the beginning of the spooky season but it also marked the return of the Dapper Dans to Disneyland. The Haunted Mansion Holiday also returned and this was the first stop…
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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…
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Photo Report: First Sunday at Disneyland as a Magic Key Holder
On Sunday, August 29, 2021, some of the DAPS MAGIC team made their way into the parks to enjoy being Magic Key holders for the first time since the program became available. It was a lovely day that was full of magic, music, and photography. It was not a day of attractions. Instead, the team…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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A Look Through the Lens: Photos of the Opening Day of Disneyland
On Friday April 30, 2021 Disneyland reopened to guests after being closed for over a year. The DAPS MAGIC team was on hand to cover this historic event. One way that was covered was through the lens of the camera. Today we share with you pictures of the opening day of Disneyland. The pictures in…
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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…
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The Dream of a Train and a Boat, Two Stories Looking for Happy Endings
Before I was born, my grandpa built a houseboat with my grandma, mom, and uncles. This boat, named Puff, was the culmination of years of dreaming and led to years of happy memories. Decades before in the 1950s, Grandpa had been a commercial fisherman in the San Juan Islands and even ventured to Alaska once!f…
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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…
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Photo Gallery – The Magic of A Touch of Disney Opening Day
On Thursday, March 18, 2021, A Touch of Disney opened at Disney California Adventure. This magical food experience is full of magic, music, food, and continues through April 19, 2021. The event runs from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM every Thursday through Monday during its run. While the food is great at A Touch of…
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Looking Back: One Year After Disneyland’s Closure
One year ago today, I was making my way over to the Disneyland Resort for what I thought would be my last day at the parks for a few weeks. There was a sense of uncertainty but there was definitely no recognition over how significant of a day this would end up being. One year…
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A Morning Stroll on Buena Vista Street on Its Final Weekend as Part of the Downtown Disney District
On Friday morning I entered Downtown Disney District at opening to check out Buena Vista Street on its last weekend as a part of Downtown Disney District. Next week, it will no longer be open to guests who want to wander in from the rest of Downtown Disney District in preparation for A Touch of…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Happy Thanksgiving! The Thanksgiving Promise – A Thanksgiving Tradition
Happy Thanksgiving! Wishing you all a safe and wonderful day as we celebrate what we are thankful for. Know that we are thankful for each and every one of you. We love sharing our love of Disney and geekdom with you and we are thankful that you join us in doing this. However you celebrate…
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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…
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Thoughts on the Pros and Cons of Walt Disney World Resort After a Phased Reopening Visit
At the end of last month, Murray and I flew out to Florida for a week at Walt Disney World Resort. The trip was fairly last minute in nailing down details and actually deciding to go. This is mainly due to the uncertainty of the time in which we live. Just a couple of weeks…
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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…
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A Conversation About HOWARD with Director Don Hahn, the New Disney+ Documentary with the Only Person Who Could Make It.
Next week Howard will be arriving on Disney+. This is the story of Howard Ashman, the lyricist behind the music of Disney animated classics like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Recently, DAPS MAGIC had the opportunity to sit down (via zoom) with director Don Hahn and several other news organizations to chat…