The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (219 page)

Holidays
and Special Events

Disneyland Resort
goes all out for major American holidays, and in recent years has expanded its holiday efforts, selling
Disney
clothes and accessories themed to minor holidays like St. Patrick’s Day; firing pink, heart-shaped fireworks on Valentine’s Day, and red-white-and-blue fireworks on Independence Day; hosting
Mardi Gras
-themed
Bayou Bash
festivals that include savory bacon-cheddar popcorn, rich cupcakes, bayou dishes, special
Princess Tiana
meet-and-greets, and much pageantry and music; hosting Oktoberfest in
Downtown Disney
; celebrating international holidays like the Lunar New Year with dancers, dragons, Kung Fu experts and
Disney
celebs
Mulan
and
Mushu
(at
Disneyland
in 2012, and at
DCA
’s
Pacific Wharf
in 2013); and opening a mini ice rink in
Downtown Disney
for the winter holidays.  In 2013, Easter received its due with a wonderful egg hunt (see
Contemporary Holiday Fun
below).  On Leap Day, February 29, 2012,
Disneyland Park
(and
Walt Disney World
in
Orlando
) did the unprecedented, staying open for 24 consecutive hours from 6 am on February 29 until 6 am on March 1, 2012.  Thrilled Guests packed the plaza outside
Disneyland
’s turnstiles the night before the big event, camping out to be among the first in line at 6 am.  The media, particularly local
ABC
personalities, were on hand throughout the 24 hours interviewing resort brass, Cast Members, and Guests.  Guests who arrived early enough received special
Ear Hats
and brightly colored
One More Disney Day
buttons.  Cast and crew from
ABC
’s popular comedy
Modern Family
were in the park on February 29 and March 1, filming an episode.  Guests with good–or lucky–timing saw
Sofia Vergara
,
Julie Bowen
, and their fellow actors running through their paces throughout the park.  Glimpsing
Modern Family
’s lumaries was among Leap Day’s treats, but there were plenty of challenges.  Lines were long, crowds dense, and just trying to get into the park as late as midnight on March 1 meant almost an hour’s wait as
Disneyland
carefully monitored and controlled the number of Guests flowing in and out of the property.  Some Guests, weary and cranky, got into arguments, pushed other Guests or nudged them with strollers, giving the hydra-like entrance lines a mosh-pit feel.  Inside the park, surreal scene after surreal scene unfolded in the wee hours of March 1.  Characters from
Disneyland
’s defunct
Country Bear Jamboree
conducted meet-and-greets in
Frontierland
.  A
Fantasmic!
show was performed at 1 am, but without the
Mark Twain
, which was undergoing its seasonal dry-docking at
Fowler’s Harbor
.  The queue for
Snow White’s Scary Adventures
snaked out into the
Fantasyland
courtyard–at two in the morning.  Across the courtyard, the line for
Peter Pan’s Flight
was 40 minutes long at two am.  Of course, the line for
Peter Pan’s Flight
is
always
40 minutes long. I’m convinced that even if there is zombie apocalypse someday, there will
still
be a 40-minute long line for
Peter Pan’s Flight
; in the absence of regular Guests, the zombies will queue!  At around two in the morning, the line for
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
was a staggering
75 minutes
long. 
Tomorrowland
?  Forget about it–wall-to-wall crowds that seemed to surpass the New Year’s Eve throngs, including a packed house listening to delightfully ear-melting club music amid the pulsing lights of
Tomorrowland Terrace
.  Lines for popcorn and churros and rest rooms were longer than some attraction lines.  Radio station 102.7 KIIS FM broadcast live from the balcony of the
Disneyland Dream Suite
in
New Orleans Square
.  On the
Carnation Plaza
stage,
Mickey
,
Minnie
, and
Donald
appeared in their pajamas and nightcaps, joining the Guests’ festive all-nighter.  At almost 3 am, the park entrance line was still insanely long, snaking from the
Disneyland
turnstiles all the way around the vast plaza.  The author–and many others!–wondered whether
Disneyland Park
would host another 24-hour leap day event in four years.  Based on the massive and enthusiastic Guest response, it seems likely.  Guests not only spent plenty of hard-earned pennies in the park, but bought out
all
of the rooms at the
Disneyland Resort
hotels and at many hotels and motels surrounding the park.  Leap Day channeled a jolt of welcome profits into
Disneyland
and
Anaheim
during the slow season in a still-sluggish economy, while giving Guests a highly unusual and exciting experience.  So anticipate a Leap Day repeat in 2016
.
 
As summer approached in 2013,
Disneylan
d
adapted the Leap Day event to Memorial Day, keeping both
Disneyland
and
DCA
(and
Walt Disney World
in Florida) open from 6 am on May 24, 2013 until 6 am on May 25, 2013 for 24 hours of
Disney
fun!  Unlike Leap Day, when only
Disneyland Park
was open, creating unheard of bottlenecks and queues, for the Memorial Day weekend event the resort decided to open
DCA
too, giving Guests much more elbow room.  All major attractions, eateries, and shops were open in both parks.  It was the kick-off of 2013’s
Monstrous Summer
(monstrous fun, that is!), and it was a blast.  Queues at
Space Mountain
at 3 am were only 60 minutes long, and lines were even more reasonable at other attractions and restaurants.  Rocking with
Mad T
at 1:30 am?  Roaming
Fantasyland
and
New Orleans Square
near dawn? 
Mickey
and his friends in their pj’s greeting Guests at a
Toontown
all-nighter that included
Disney
cartoons playing on a giant TV screen?  The Memorial Day all-nighter of 2013 was a historic first and hopefully will be repeated for many years hence, if the Guests–from toddlers to grandparents–who attended have a vote!  Beyond celebrating holidays, the resort also hosts a variety of special events every year, like the
Tinker Bell Half Marathon
which debuted on January 29, 2012.  Beginning at 4 am, runners in spangly skirts, sparkly fairy wings, and
Mouse Ears
, among other festive outfits, raced through the resort and the cordoned-off streets of
Anaheim
, while tunes by Lady Gaga and the GoGos blasted, and well-wishers lining the route cheered on the runners.  A big success,
Disneyland
’s
Tinker Bell Half Marathon
was held again the weekend of January 18, 2013, and will continue.  If you can handle the crowds that often descend upon the resort during peak holiday seasons and special events, you will have a
magical
, unforgettable experience.  In January and February all the gleaming Christmas decorations and lights are removed, and many attractions, shops, and restaurants are cocooned for annual maintenance and refurbishment.  So make time during the autumn and early winter to see
Disneyland
at its most enchanting! 
Did You Know?
  St. Patrick’s Day used to be a big,
big
holiday at
Disneyland
.  A couple of years ago a coworker shared with me her very positive
Disneyland
St. Patrick’s Day memories, which inspired me to do some research on the events.  Because Catholic Schools used to close on St. Patrick’s Day, and because
Disneyland
and the local archdiocese reached an arrangement, local Catholic school kids used to receive heavily discounted
Disneyland
passes on St. Patrick’s Day and would be bused to the park. 
Catholic School Day
at
Disneyland
was affordable, even for children of modest means; it was safe and well-supervised; kids were able to attend with their school pals; and, of course, it was a blast!  Irish bands performed.  Special St. Paddy’s Day-themed pins were sold.  My coworker was positively beaming as she discussed her memories of these long-ago events.  Memories of special times at
Disneyland
literally do last a lifetime.

Contemporary Holiday Fun:

Easter
:  In March 2013,
DCA
rolled out a couple of Easter Egg hunts.  The first hunt lasted for a couple of weeks and was park-wide.  Guests paid $4.95 for a colorful map of
DCA
and a sheet of
Disney character
“egg” stickers.  Instructions on the map directed Guests to search
DCA
attractions and districts where Easter Eggs adorned with images of
Disney characters
were concealed.  All eggs were hidden in plain sight above or below attractions and buildings.  Some were concealed in a manner challenging even for adults to spot, but most were visible even to kids in the party.  When you found one of the two-foot tall eggs, you placed the corresponding sticker on the map; when all stickers were collected, you turned in your map and received two
Vinylmation
keychains.  This was an extremely fun and popular event, and a communal experience.  Guests clutching maps and stickers who encountered each other in the search zones shared clues and encouragement.  The hunt made us all slow down and
really
examine surroundings that we usually just hurry through.  Cast Members did an excellent job of hiding the eggs. 
Daisy
’s pink egg was toughest to spot, concealed in foliage near the
Pacific Wharf
bridge. 
Donald
’s egg near the
Silly Symphony Swings
was stolen and had to be replaced next morning; I was on the spot when a Cast Member installed the new egg amidst foliage at the base of the attraction. 
DCA
hosted another egg hunt later in March 2013 at the
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
, and as Easter drew near, the
Easter Bunny
greeted Guests at
DCA
.  Now that DCA has been transformed into a superlative park, it’s delightful to see the resort using it as a setting for new holiday events.

Memorial Day Weekend
:  Will the 24-hour all-nighter of May 24, 2013 be repeated on future Memorial Day weekends?  We can only hope so! 
Disneyland
and
DCA
kicked off the
Monstrous Summer
of 2013 by staying open from 6 am on May 24 until 6 am on May 25.  Keeping
both
parks open, including plenty of attractions, shows, and eateries, ensured reasonable queues and happy Cast Members, which translated to happy Guests.  Everyone had a monstrous good time, including the media who commandeered
Small World Promenade
and the
Golden Horseshoe
for their HQs.  Memorial Day is always the unofficial start of summer, and what makes it more special than 24 hours of fun with friends and family at
the happiest place on earth
?  How about a festive Greek celebration?  From May 25 through May 27, 2013,
Disneyland
and
DCA
also hosted
Opa!
, a lively combination of Greek cuisine, music, culture, and costumes. 
Opa
is a cheerful Greek exclamation that can be translated loosely as “Hurrah!” or “Rock on!” or “Party!” 
Opa
, my fellow
Disneyland
fans!

Halloween Time
:  From the end of September through Halloween (October 31), the parks are draped in ghoulish glamour.  In the past,
Disney California Adventure Park
built a candy-corn wonderland in what used to be
Sunshine Plaza
(now
Buena Vista Street
), and until 2010 hosted special
Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party
nights for a separate admission.  In 2010 the Halloween parties moved across the plaza to
Disneyland Park
. 
Mickey’s Halloween Parties
are held in on select evenings and include candy stations, a special parade, and fireworks—and those are only part of the park’s spooky treats.  These parties require a special admission ($51 each for
Annual Passholders
for Halloween 2013), but for those on a budget,
Disneyland Park
always offers plenty of Halloween thrills that are included in the regular admission price. 
Main Street
welcomes harvest time with a giant
Mickey
pumpkin and over 300 smaller carved pumpkins decorating every window, balcony, rooftop, and cornice. 
Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree
presents frontier
Halloween Round Ups
and
Carnivals
with concerts, crafts, games, elaborately carved pumpkins (many displaying the likeness of favorite
Disney
characters), and meet-and-greets with classic
Disney
villains such as
Malificent
,
Captain Hook
, the
Evil Queen
,
Jafar
, and the
Queen of Hearts
.
Billy Hill and the Haunted Hillbillies
perform. At
El Zocalo Park
, merrily clad skeleton figures of all sizes are posed in celebration of
Dia de los Muertos
(Day of the Dead) the traditional Mexican celebration of deceased family members, and Mexican hot chocolate treat
Abuelita
(“Granny”) is served at treat carts.  Across the street, in front of
Silver Spur Supplies
, a tree is decorated with tiny pumpkins and lights.  First displayed in 2007, this
Halloween Tree
was inspired by legendary science-fantasy author
Ray Bradbury
’s novel “The Halloween Tree” and had
Disneyland
fan
Bradbury
’s stamp of approval.  The fantastically decorated
Halloween Tree
draws your eye the moment you enter
Frontierland
.  Every year since 2001, the
Haunted Mansion
over in
New Orleans Square
receives a
Nightmare Before Christmas
overlay. 
Haunted Mansion Holiday
, “when two holidays collide” lasts through New Year’s Day. 
Jack Skellington
,
Sally
,
Scary Teddy
, and all the
Nightmare
gang have brought their own morbidly merry spin on Christmas to the mansion, to wish Guests a “Scary Christmas” and “Season’s Screamings”.  Keep your eyes (and nose!) open for the
Grand Hall
’s gingerbread cake, which is highly imaginative and executed in a different design every year. 
Jack
and
Sally
are often on hand to greet Guests in
Magnolia Park
near the mansion.  The resort serves up special Halloween treats like to-die-for “zombie” gingerbread men.  Sometimes
The Pirates League
sets up shop in
New Orleans Square
or
Frontierland
to help Guest transform into buccaneers (for a fee); call (714) 781-STYLE to check if
The Pirate League
will be there during your visit, and reserve your pirate “beauty” appointment if so.  In 2009,
Tomorrowland
joined the holiday festivities as
Space Mountain
received a spooky new soundtrack and grisly galactic ghosts took over the universe in
Space Mountain–Ghost Galaxy
.  The ghostly galaxy proved so popular that it has become an annual
Disneyland
tradition.  Over the night skies of
Disneyland
, a Halloween-themed fireworks show,
Halloween Screams
, pays tribute to classic
Disney
villains in dramatic splashes of light and music–though beginning in 2012, this special show was reserved for trick-or-treat party attendees only.  In 2013, as part of
Limited Time Magic
,
DCA
invited Guests to view (and pose for photos with) spooky
Bellhops
at the
Tower of Terror
during autumn nights, and Guests were invited to boogie with
Disney villains
at dance parties in
Main Street
’s
Town Square
and
New Orleans Square
’s train station.  Not to be outdone,
DCA
’s ever-cool
Mad T Party Band
added Halloween surprises to their 2013 autumn performances.  How can you find out what will be on tap for
your
Halloween visit to the
happiest (and sometimes spookiest) place on earth
?  Visit
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/
for details.