Tag: Disneyland History
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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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5 Memorable Narrators of the Disneyland Candlelight Processional
The Disneyland Candlelight Processional is an annual tradition at the Disneyland Resort that dates back to the days of Walt Disney. Each year (except for a few in Fantasyland), a mass choir, orchestra, handbell choir, fanfare trumpeters and celebrity narrator come together in front of Main Street Station and tell the story of the original…
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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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Day 5: Art – 24 Days of Thanksgiving
Art, I hope you find this and are reading it. In the spirit of Thanksgiving and Disneyland, my memories travel back over the decades to the beat of the Disneyland Band marching down Main Street USA to the awaiting chairs, music stands, and park benches in front of Town Hall. I am there waiting for…
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Remembering the Last Show of Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple Four Years Later
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by
On November 4, 2018 Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple had its final training show in Tomorrowland. This show, which taught younglings, the ways of the Jedi inspired guests young and old during its run at the Disneyland Resort. During the process, the Padawans would learn to face their fears as they found themselves facing…
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Day Two: An Idea and a Dream – 24 Days of Thanksgiving
There are so many things to be thankful for when it comes to the many worlds of Disney this month. One of the things that seem almost to be a no-brainer is the idea that Walt Disney had while sitting on a bench at Griffith Park. Now found at Disneyland in the Opera House, this…
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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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Looking Back at the Last Five Years of Disneyland Birthday Celebrations
Yesterday, Disneyland celebrated its 67th birthday. As is often the case, Disney fans descended on the Disneyland resort just to be in the spot where Walt Disney once said “To all who come to this happy place, welcome.” Friends that often are only seen once or twice a year were seen in the parks as…
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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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Some Imagination, Huh? Fantasmic! Celebrates 30 Years of Magical Dreams at Disneyland!
On Mary 13, 1992 Mickey’s imagination came to life for the first time in Fantasmic! This incredible nighttime spectacular brings the Rivers of America to life as Mickey Mouse’s imagination takes guests on a magical journey through multiple Disney stories. Eventually, he ends up facing some darker parts of his imagination culminating with a Mickey…
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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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Happy Easter! – Looking Back at a Bunny Hop or Two at Disneyland
Happy Easter! Wishing you and yours a wonderful day however you celebrate! One of the ways Disneyland has celebrated Easter in the past is with the Bunny Hop. This came in a couple of different forms. Today, let’s take a moment to look back at two iterations of the Bunny Hop at Disneyland. In 2013…
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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…
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1992: Another Original Year – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
You remember a year ago that in this blog I kind of complained about the 1991 promotional “theme” for Disneyland? That after the incredible 35th anniversary year of 1990, with the alluring (and admittedly kind of baffling) Party Gras theme, the best they could come up with was “The Original?” Really. That was the theme…
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Mickey’s Nutcracker – 30 Years Ago at Disneyland
In 1991, the former Videopolis stage in Fantasyland offered a holiday entertainment that could have easily become a long-running seasonal tradition at Disneyland. Mickey’s Nutcracker promised to be a contemporary version of the well-known Christmas entertainment but proved to be a quirky retelling of the beloved ballet with some dancing, some singing, and some other…
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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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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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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…