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July 18, 2005

Disneyland's 50th: The Report

Disneyland's 50th birthday was amazing.

The post-Storm/Sparks gang had been out kind of late on Friday, so I didn't get to bed until 1. My original plan had been to hit the park at 6 AM, which necessitated my being out the door at a quarter past five. Since that would have given me a scant four hours of sleep in front of a very busy day, I elected to take an extra hour.

Khan, it seems, was right about the $14.50. Mea culpa.

In some ways, I was relaxed about the crowds. Despite my suspicion of record morning crowds and insane lines (fueled, in no small part, by buzz on the Disney fan sites), I wondered how many people were actually going to show up more than an hour ahead of the park opening to be in line. I suspected I'd see people, but it wouldn't be that bad.

So I woke up with a start at 5:48, showered, and hit the road. I parked at the Mickey & Friends garage in Anaheim, and noted there were already a number of cars in the garage. Hm.

I walked down the garage escalator and caught the tram to Downtown Disney. I noticed that the tram filled with people. And then we were away, pulling up to Downtown Disney just three or four minutes later.

And then I saw the lines.
Holy crap.

At 6:45 in the morning, there were easily 30,000 people in line. Easily. The line snaked from the tram drop-off, around a corner, and then down the entire length of Downtown Disney, only to make a U-turn at the Lego Store (next to the Monorail station) and head back to the security booths in front of the Esplanade.

In addition to these 30,000 folks, an additional 20,000 had spent the night at Disney's California Adventure. (Call me cynical about DCA, but this might be the largest crowd ever in that park.)

The net effect was that, despite the fact that the park gates were opened at 7 AM - a whole hour ahead of schedule - I spent an hour and 45 minutes just waiting to get in to Disneyland.

This was not, by any means, a bad time. In fact, as you might imagine, I had a few things in common with the 29,999 other folks in line. People were swapping stories, talking about where they were from, how many times they'd been to the park, favorite memories, favorite rides, you name it. Some couples had proposed to one another in the park (as my friends Cale and Rosheen did, for example); others were returning for the first time in a decade. It was truly amazing.

So the lines moved (this is Disney, after all, and they know queueing theory), and I finally entered the park around 8:30. Every guest got free, gold-colored mouse ears with "July 17, 2005" stitched on the back, as well as commemorative park maps for Disneyland and California Adventure. Cast members were also dispensing free cupcakes to guests all day long.

Khan and Christine, as guests of the Disneyland Hotel, had managed to finagle primo slots in line, and were already having breakfast at the Plaza Inn when we hooked up around 8:45. I checked in with them and booked over to Space Mountain for a FastPass; my return time was already 12:20. Satisfied that I'd get to ride the coaster at least once, I headed back to the Plaza to chat with Khan & Chris.

The "big events" for the day included a formal park birthday announcement at 10 AM, and a replay of Walt's historic dedication of the park at 4:45 PM - 50 years, to the day and time, of when it was originally delivered. The birthday announcement was to be held in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, but Disneyland management had set up Jumbotron monitors all over the park that were covering the live broadcast.

I can't stress enough how large the crowds were. Photos simply don't capture the scale of the thing; I used the video feature of my Canon to take a tracking shot of the mob in front of the castle around 9 AM . Remember, this is an hour before the actual ceremony; these people are just getting in line to watch. And more are arriving every second. (34.5 MB, QuickTime required.)

With the crowds in front of the castle growing to insane levels, the three of us elected to go to Tomorrowland to watch the broadcast (the photo at the top of this post is Khan and me in Tomorrowland, waiting for the broadcast - you can see Space Mountain and the Jumbotron in the background). Tomorrowland has always been my favorite Disney "land", and it seemed somehow fitting to watch the ceremony from the part of the park that had, ostensibly, been most concerned with trying to forecast what our lives would be like in 2005. (Sadly, the flying cars never came to be.)

When 10 AM rolled around, you could sense the outrageous energy from the crowd. Art Linkletter, who hosted the original Disneyland ceremony in 1955, is still alive and kicking (at 93!), and was on hand to both reminisce about the old days and talk about how excited he was to be here today. He introduced Bob Iger, who introduced Michael Eisner, and who in turn introduced Arnold Schwarzenegger. Diane Disney Miller (Walt's daughter) was on hand to represent the family. All told, it was a touching - and appropriate - 45 minutes.

After the ceremony, Khan and Christine headed back to their hotel to swim in the pool (they had an early flight back to Seattle, and wanted to unwind first), which meant I was on my own for the balance of the day. Despite the crowds, lines moved well - I got on Space Mountain, of course, but also Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, The Enchanted Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion, and visited the "Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years" exhibit. I even made it over to California Adventure and hit Tower of Terror, California Screamin' (twice!), Soarin' Over California, and "Turtle Talk with Crush" in the Animation pavilion (if you have kids who liked "Finding Nemo", take 'em to "Turtle Talk." Trust me on this one...). After seeing the 4:45 rededication from Main Street, I called it a day.

I could not have planned - or hoped - for a better time. Yes, it was crowded, and yes, it was crazy-busy. It was a hot day, and the lines for everything - rides, food, bathrooms, you name it - were omnipresent. That said, there was a lot of fun to be had, along with a deep and abiding sense of being there for something that was unique and special. Khan and Christine are Disney maniacs, so being able to experience the morning with them was a treat - like going to a concert of a band you love with a few friends who know the music as well as you do.

I'm going back to Disneyland in early November - three days, this time - to experience the holidays with friends and family. It will be great to slow down and drink the parks in with a little more time and a little less frenzy. But there's just no replicating the 17th. The golden mouse ears - as well as my ticket, and the maps - are on my bookshelf.

Posted by Gavin Shearer at July 18, 2005 8:56 PM. Posted to Disney | Travel.

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Posted by: marnie at July 19, 2005 9:49 AM

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