Tag: 30 Years Ago At Disneyland
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Construction Mystery Revealed – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Last month’s column left us with a bit of a cliffhanger (at least, a cliffhanger thirty years ago). What was that very large structure rising up all the way out in the parking lot where the Eeyore section used to be? It was definitely looking more substantial as the steel skeleton was being filled in.…
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A Construction Mystery – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
The January, 1994 opening of Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin started the year off on a high note at Disneyland. By now, fans had grown to expect something new and exciting on a fairly regular basis. After all, we were approaching the middle of “The Disney Decade.” Even walking through the vast parking lot that…
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Toontown Redux – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
If you were reading this blog a year ago (and I sincerely hope you were), you were sharing the excitement of the grand opening of Mickey’s Toontown, on January 24, 1993. Or January 26th. Or the 25th. (You will have to check out last year’s blog to figure that one out.) And what are we…
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New Orleans Square’s Old New Waterfront – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
The last new “land” that Walt Disney personally dedicated at Disneyland was New Orleans Square. The appearance of the deceptively small area has remained pretty much the same since that July 24, 1966 day, with winding streets and secluded courtyards creating the illusion that it is much larger. One important area of New Orleans Square…
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The Arrival of the Partners – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Do you remember “The Globe of Death?” If you do, it will remain only a vivid memory. That is because, thirty years ago this month, Disneyland dedicated the Partners statue at the center of the park, creating a permanent tribute to the man who started it all, and the mouse that he said started it…
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New Old Boats Appear in Adventureland – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Some changes at Disneyland are so abrupt or momentous or large that they cannot be missed when they are happening, and the change itself is long remembered. Other changes, more subtle and instantly familiar, are soon forgotten. In October, 1993, Disneyland’s venerable Jungle Cruise rolled out the first subtle change in a years-long makeover that…
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Souvenir Guidebook and Disneyland Today – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
If you read this column last year, you may recall we explored the 1992 Disneyland Souvenir Guide, which weighed in at a hefty 32 pages. This month, we will be looking at the 1993 Souvenir Guidebook. The addition of “book” to the guide was most appropriate, as it had expanded to no less than 36…
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No Longer Banking on Main Street – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Last month’s article was all about an auspicious early July opening (Aladdin’s Oasis, if you missed it). This month’s is all about a quiet closure that took place near the end of July. One of Main Street’s older tenants, in continuous operation since 1955 in fact, closed its doors for the last time on July…
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You Ain’t Never Had a Feast Like This! – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
It will surprise most readers that this month’s column is not about July 17, 1993. Yes, Disneyland did turn 38 years old that day (or on July 18, depending on how contentious you are). But July of 1993 had another auspicious opening, though not for a venue that would have the lasting impact of the…
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A Very Special Episode of Blossom – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
With all the hoopla surrounding the opening of Mickey’s Toontown thirty years ago earlier this year, I managed to get past another memorable event that took place at Disneyland in January of 1993. Fortunately I have photos to share, and some rather fuzzy screen shots from an episode of a quintessential 90s sitcom, Blossom. Blossom…
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Bring the Whole Family! – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
After spending so much time on Toontown this year, this month’s entry will get us back into and around the rest of Disneyland. In May of 1993 (May eighth, to be precise) I again renewed my Annual Passport. This time it cost $119, but I felt the expense was worth it, considering the use I…
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Aladdin’s Royal Caravan – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Parades have been a part of Disneyland from the very beginning. The live TV special on the park’s inaugural day included a unique one. It would be followed through the years by 60 or so different parades that have since strutted down Main Street. Aladdin’s Royal Caravan made its debut on April 2, 1993, running…
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Mickey’s Toontown (Part 2) – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
This month— the suburbs. But first, a short diversion. How should we get there? We could walk (it’s a pleasant walk). Or, we could take the Jolly Trolley. Despite what anyone may have told you, thirty years ago at Disneyland the Jolly Trolley was a real thing. It really traveled along the tracks in Toontown,…
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Mickey’s Toontown (Part 1) – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Last month we looked at the grand opening of Mickey’s Toontown, January 25th, 1993. Or the 24th. Or 26th. This month I anticipated writing up a complete tour of the new land, but after going through the many, many photos that I took that day, I decided to present Toontown over two months. This month…
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Opening Mickey’s Toontown – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Serendipity is a word I have always enjoyed. It sounds as joyful as its meaning: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. This month’s column, all about the opening of Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland 30 years ago, falls on the same week that there will be a dedication…
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Happy Holidays! – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Today, Disneyland has a staggering array of holiday-themed promotions, one blending into another through several months of the year. It may seem hard to believe, but just thirty years ago fans of the Happiest Place on Earth had to be content with a few one-day events, and then the “big” Christmas season after Thanksgiving. Here…
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A New Train Station and Toy Shop – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
1992 may not have been the most “original” year in Disneyland history (even the “original” promotion had been carried over from 1991), but the end of the year saw two new venues open in the northernmost part of the happiest place on earth. On November 25, the new Toontown Railroad Station opened, and on December…
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A Daytime Parade to Remember – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
This month’s column was supposed to be about a very memorable 1992 daytime parade that ran from June 19 to November 15. “The World According to Goofy” may have seemed a somewhat random choice, unless one remembers that Goofy made his Disney debut in 1932. For his 60th birthday, Disneyland created a zany parade tracing…
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Mickey’s Toontown Under Construction – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
You may recall that a year ago I was writing about Afternoon Avenue Live! at Disneyland, and specifically about the closure of Baloo’s Dressing Room. That meet ’n greet, located immediately beyond that new railroad trestle to the west of it’s a small world, had been replaced by a construction wall. In case there was…
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Souvenir Guide 1992 – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
One of the tangible things I miss from 30 years ago at Disneyland is their over-the-top souvenir guide. Starting in 1955, with a modest flyer printed in two colors (black and turquoise), guests were always provided with basic information to make their visit “more enjoyable.” By 1992, that single sheet had grown into a 32-page…
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A Stroll Around the Park – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Disneyland in the Summer of 1992 had matured and grown in many ways, but for guests who had been visiting since the 1960s, it was still a pretty familiar place. Thirty years later, on the other hand, it seems like change has come to every corner of Walt’s original Magic Kingdom. But don’t take my…
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So, That’s a Fantasmic! – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
Last month, I described the events leading up to the May 15 public debut of Fantasmic!, the new nighttime spectacle that had everyone guessing about what, exactly, it would be. This month I will be describing my reaction, the public reaction, and the long-term impact it had on Disneyland. On Friday, May 15, I made…
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Beauty and the Beast— Live – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
It is both hard to express as well as to underestimate the importance of this month’s subject to Disneyland, Disney theme parks, and the Walt Disney Company. The Videopolis/Fantasyland Theater production of Beauty and the Beast— Live is largely forgotten today. But its impact still reverberates. Part of the problem in recalling this delightful production…
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Update on Fantasmic! – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
As if Daylight Saving’s Time wasn’t bad enough, last month we leaped a year ahead (or 29 years behind) our usual thirty years ago. This month we are back on track but will be starting out on the wrong side of the park. Yes, this is an update on the construction of Fantasmic!, but first…
