The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014: One Local's Unauthorized, Rapturous and Indispensable Guide to the Happiest Places on Earth (7 page)

Interestingly, the more I visited the resort, and the more I read about
the
Disney Company
in general, the more I found myself thinking about my job.  I was always tinkering with ways to make things at work more efficient, productive, and fun.  That’s the
Disneyland
effect—it seems to stimulate creative thinking and out-of-the-box approaches.

Using creative and innovative thinking, b
y the end of 2008, the talented crew I worked with broke records, and I won a corporate award for several of my ideas.

It was
around 2008 that my brother half-jokingly suggested that I write a book about the
Disneyland Resort
.  After all, I spent so much time there, had read so much about it, and so forth.  His comment set the wheels turning …

Writing a book
about something you love can be a joyful endeavor.  I certainly had experiences, knowledge, and observations about the park that I wanted to share with other
Disneyland
fans, and with readers who perhaps never could travel to the park, but could only read and dream about it.

W
riting a book, however, is a big bear of a project.  It demands a lot of time and consumes most of your energy and focus.  Research can also be financially draining.  It’s like leaping into a vortex.  Did I
really
want to do that?

Anyone familiar with this series knows that, yes, I did ultimately
write a
Disneyland
history and guide book, while contending with a layoff and myriad other challenges.  Once you lock onto a real dream, you make it happen, whatever the challenge.

It was important to read the words and analyses of
Disney
Imagineers
, Cast Members, experts, news reporters, and historians, but I knew that to be truly meaningful, the book couldn’t rely merely on information gleaned from others.

So
I continued to visit the parks as a participant-observer, engaged as a Guest, attuned to the park, Cast Members, fellow Guests, and all that unfolded in the
magical
kingdom.  I took written notes.  I filmed reference videos and snapped hundreds (now thousands) of reference photos.

During the writing of the first edition of this book
, my family’s encouragement was invaluable.  My niece and sometimes my sister accompanied me on research trips.  Dad and my brother read and commented on manuscript drafts.  Mom and my two amazing Aunts were cheerleaders.  My brother-in-law’s abiding belief in my talents was always energizing, and my sister-in-law, who works in
Disney
licensing, obtained discounted tickets so I could attend the first-ever
D23 Expo
in September of 2009, and the next expo in August of 2011.  The original expo was brilliant, and it was there that I first heard one of my heroes, the legendary
Imagineer
Marty Sklar
, speak about
Imagineering
.

I wrote
the book.  I wrote it in feverish bursts, whenever I could find the time.  And after what turned out to be years of research and writing, the original
Disneyland Book of Secrets
, published in 2011, and its subsequent updates, were the result of my happy labors.

* * *

There are many excellent
Disneyland
books on the market, many of which you’ll find listed in the “Resources & Recommendations” section at the back of this book.  (I encourage you to read them all!)

What makes
The Disneyland Book of Secrets
series special?


        
Guest Perspective
.  A number of readers have noted that one of the best things about this book is that it was written by someone who truly knows and loves the
Disneyland Resort
, and who has experienced it from the inside perspective of a frequent Guest.  What you’re learning from this book is the real deal from an informed Guest’s perspective.  This is a book
for
Guests, written
by
a Guest.


        
Independent Viewpoint
.  As a Guest who doesn’t work for
Disney
, I can be independent in my perspective.  The opinions shared in this book are my own honest opinions, derived from hundreds of hours actually spent at the resort.  I’ve stood in long lines in the rain and the broiling sun.  I’ve stayed at the resort hotels, eaten the food, and experienced the parades, shows, and attractions, experiencing the resort as
you
are going to experience it.  Where there are issues and problems other Guests might want to know about, I share those here in a constructive way.


        
“One-Stop Shopping”
.  Within this book you’ll find a wealth of
Disneyland
information:  facts, tips, secrets, menus, prices, in-depth history, analysis, opinions, photos,
Hidden Mickeys
, and essays on everything from local hotels to keeping fit and safe on your vacation.  There are detailed descriptions as well as
FastView
capsule summaries of each attraction, shop, and restaurant.  Readers have remarked that books in this series are “incredibly comprehensive”.  Unlike some
Disneyland
books, the 2014 electronic
E-Ticket
edition covers
both
theme parks,
Disneyland
and also its sister park
DCA
.  The deluxe paperback editions cover each park separately, due to printing constraints and readability, but both of the 2014
Disneyland
and
DCA
paperbacks contain the handy “Guest-O-Pedia” and
all
of the extra essays and resources and photos—all of the extra “bells and whistles”—from the
E-Ticket
edition.

This truly is one of the most comprehensive guide and history books ever published. 
How do you save money at the resort?  Pamper yourself?  Beat the crazy lines at popular attractions?  Select a hotel?  Keep your children safe?  Avoid
Disneyland
meltdowns
?  It’s in here, along with essays on
Disneyland
’s incredible variety of foods and beverages, fitness expert Jack Witt’s tips for staying healthy and fit during your resort visit, a “Guest-O-Pedia” that explains
Disneyland
from “
Annual Passholders
” to “
Zebra Cocoa
,” and tales of some of
Disneyland
’s weirder and spookier facts, myths, and legends.

Finally, in addition to the
author’s grown-up perspective, you can read “Kid’s Eye Views” and “Teen’s Eye Views,” comments on many attractions by the author’s intrepid copilot on so many early journeys, the niece whose birthday party started it all.

As of this writing Julia
is fourteen years old, and has been visiting the park since she was five.  She can recall toddler experiences there, and now has a teen perspective.  She’s able to provide a youthful viewpoint that is sometimes lacking in
Disneyland
books.  Her opinion is, of course, just one voice, but it’s the voice of a savvy kid who’s spent hundreds of hours at the resort.

* * *

Thank you for buying this book, arm-chair traveler! 
Disneyland
truly is one of the happiest places on earth.  It’s invigorating, inspiring, and yet relaxing.  If you ease into your time there, you will find yourself creatively and technically inspired in ways that will carry over to your work and your family.

With an entire imaginative resort and a legion of Cast Members devoted to meeting every Guest need, how could the result be anything but euphoric?  I hope that the joy and delight of this unique utopia translates through these pages.

Some final thoughts about
The Disneyland Book of Secrets 2014
before you dive in …

Accuracy
.  Within these pages I’ve made every effort to be accurate, to corroborate information, to cross-check facts, and to draw upon multiple sources that include the Internet, books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, lectures, personal experience and observation, and informal Cast Member interviews.  Any errors or inaccuracies are my own responsibility.

Change Management
.  The 2014 editions are as up-to-date as possible, but remember that the park is a living, ever-changing entity.  Prices will change over time, usually increasing.  The prices and menus within this book will give you a solid idea of what to expect and how to budget, but during the next year some menu items might change, and some prices might rise (typical
Disneyland
food-price increases are about twenty – thirty cents per annum for modestly priced items (like hot dogs), and anywhere from fifty – one dollar and fifty cents per annum for premium menu offerings (like filet mignon)).

Attractions, restaurants
, and shops are changed or retired, and new attractions, eateries and stores are introduced. 
Walt
himself wanted the park to be perpetually improving, eternally in progress.

This commitment to continual
plussing
was reaffirmed by
Disneyland Resort President
George Kalogridis
when he spoke to a packed
Town Square
on July 17, 2010.  It was 55 years to the day since
Disneyland
first opened, and
Kalogridis
was on hand to celebrate the event, along with
Disney Ambassador
Danielle DuBoi
s and
Disneyland
security Cast Member
Robb Fischle
, an
Anaheim
local who was one of the first children to bound across the
Fantasyland
drawbridge on
Opening Day
.

Fischle
remembered the “pure wonder” of entering
Fantasyland
when it was fresh and new;
Kalogridis
promised 2010 Guests that new wonders will never cease at
Disneyland
– and the wonders unveiled between 2010 and 2014, particularly at
DCA
, continue to make good on that promise.

The
55
th
Anniversary
celebration and rededication was brief – 15 minutes – to-the-point, and moving.  Thousands of Guests gathered in
Town Square
and along
Main Street
. 
Club 55
associates (Cast Members who’ve worked at
Disneyland
since 1955) were in attendance.  The
Disneyland Band
played.  Children sang
When You Wish Upon A Star
in many languages. 
Walt
’s 1955 dedication was played over the
Town Square
speakers:  “To all who come to this happy place, welcome …”  The
Fab Five
(
Mickey
,
Minnie
,
Donald
,
Goofy
and
Pluto
) as well as
Chip ‘n Dale
and
Daisy
appeared.  As on
Opening Day
, the celebration ended with the release of a flock of white doves; the crowd gasped as the doves beat their bright wings and soared over
Main Street
.

On July 15, 2012,
Disney
CEO
Bob Iger
re-dedicated
DCA Park
in its shining new
Buena Vista Street
district.  As
Walt
always wanted,
Disneyland
never stands still.  It is never the same place twice.

Notes about the text
.


        
You’ll notice many
italicized
terms throughout this book.
  Names, people, places and things that were created by or are strongly related to
Walt
, the
Disney Company
and the
Disney Theme Parks
are italicized so that they stand out on the page.  (Because the terms Guest and Cast Member appear so frequently throughout the work, those words are
not
italicized.)


        
The following abbreviations have been used frequently for simplicity and to save space:
AA
is
Audio-Animatronic
;
AP
is an
Annual Passholder
or
Annual Pass
; CM is a Cast Member;
DCA
is
Disney California Adventure
park;
FP
is a
FastPass
;
S
in the attractions sections means
Single Rider
;
WDW
is
Walt Disney World
; and in the restaurant sections, “B” is Breakfast, “L” is Lunch, “D” is Dinner (the evening meal known as “supper” to some folks) and “S” is Snack.


        
Attractions that launched on
Disneyland
’s
Opening Day
are marked clearly as
Opening Day
attractions in the
E-Ticket
(electronic) and
Disneyland Park
(paperback) books.


        
The titles of attractions that closed in the last few years are
greyed out
, although the entries are retained as they will be of interest to those who study
Disneyland
history.