50-Hour Party for the 50th - What Will You Do?
 

Well, I'm coming to the realization that calling Disney everyday and asking if the tickets for the 50 hour party have gone on sale yet, might not work after all.

So July 17th and surrounding times? How shall we pay appropriate tribute?

Last year we did all the opening day attractions, I would love to do all the attractions in chronological order, but without extended hours I think that one is an impossibility. ISM has been suggesting a "Two attractions from each Disney Decade" quest - any other ideas out there?

Heheh, yeah - I remember last year's opening attraction crawl was a brilliant idea, and lots of fun - - until we had to wait for Peter Pan for hours in the blazing sun. It all sorta fell apart at that point, and not many people finished the quest.

What I am proposing this time is much more doable, and will highlight the best of Disneyland over its fifty years. Expecting July 17th to be ultra-crowded, I propose we try to hit a grand total of 5 attractions that day. And 5 other attractions on Saturday, the 16th. Two waves, each featuring one prime attraction from each Disneyland decade: 1955 thru 1964; 1965 thru 1974; 1975 thru 1984; 1985 thru 1994; and 1995 through the present. We'd have a vote to determine the "best" rides of those decades, and we'd all ride the top two vote-getters, in two waves of riding through Disneyland history!


Somewhere in there will be the traditional InnerSpace Party at Zapp's-and-my suite at the Disneyland Hotel, and also the wild night of debauchery at the Park Inn on Harbor, where so many of our mad divorcees (or divorcees-to-be) and their homosexual entourage will be staying.

There's also bound to be a MiceChat meet, a LoT meet, a Fab-refugee meet, a faux-drawbridge Castle run-thru, an opening speech group recitation in Town Square, a fireworks camp-out, a nitrous-oxide/rainbow-glasses Space Mountain ride, and I keep hearing rumours of a shirtless gay geek party.

It's gonna be a very busy weekend. I suggest we keep the attraction count expectation down to 10.

This is hardly swank to admit....but boogers just came out my nose!!

Lead on, iSm... great plan!

Lol! I know- I wonder if coffee is any swanker? I read that and ,well, my sinuses are now wide awake.

I nominate iSm to be our events coordinator and party planner! :snap:

I don't get into town until after 2:00 pm on the 16th, but I'll do my level best to catch up.:D

This forced me to check, and yes, I'm supposed to work Sat. the 16th, but I think I'm going to get the day off. :)

:iSm:'s plan seems pretty good but I'd like to see a list of the attractions....I'm going to dig one up now....

I'm all for just going and riding whatever pleases us at the moment, but with a group THAT LARGE, it just won't be feasible. We'll need some sort of plan to keep us moving.

I think, whatever we do, we should have little handouts with approximate times of events and the phone number(s) to call if you get behind or want to catch up.

Am I too organized? Well, I'm trying.

Personally, I'm into hanging about wherever. Chris and ISM have a much more developed set of plans than I do. I'd be happy witting on the Gallery Balcony or the Castle Drawbridge and watching the festivities.

I'm going to be thrilled to just be there- I didn't expect to get to go back until next year, so this is all bonus!

NA- maybe we can have interested persons send their #'s via PM, and we can compile a list that can then be sent by PM to those that want one? (That way the numbers stay reasonably private).

Don't we do enough witting here on the LoT? July 17 is an opportunity to be unwitting.

Gullible, even.

I want Matt O. to tell me that the subs are opening, the peoplemover is coming back, the Rocket Jets are returning to their rightful place, Star Tours is being updated, Alien Encounter is moving into the StarCade, Mission Space is replacing ReddRockets, they're resurrecting my old "History of Disneyland" idea for the Carousel building (with a version of "Soarin' over Disneyland" in the finale upstairs), and the Lunching Pad is re-opening for business.

Before he starts talking about Discovery Bay.

A girl can dream.

I have 90% of people's numbers and 90% have mine. I'vve come close to just posting it here. I probably shouldn't.

If you don't have my number, PM me. I'm pretty good about answering my phone.

I think there is a casual members birthday/space mountain meet being planned for the 16th. I am sure it could be worked into the attraction crawl though.

It can't be anyone of any significance. Just ditch the joker and come join us. ;)

Well, I'm gonna be making a three day festivus out of it, so witting or unwitting on the drawbridge or other people-watching/activity-watching lounge-abouts are definitely included in my person itinerary.

I just know that we had a ball last year until the sun poisoned us, and that we love hitting a few attractions with huge crowds, especially those with boats to sink.:evil:


So I don't think 5 attractions on Saturday, and 5 more on Sunday are too much to accomplish, and should not cut into the lounging about :coffee: , and crowd-avoidance hotel partying :cheers: that will also take huge and rightful chunks out of our Disneyland Birthday weekend.

And not to copy too much from last year, but who among us doesn't want a repeat of the "Open the Fantasyland Castle in the Name of the Children of the World" drawbridge run? Let's fit in all our favorite Disneyland traditions, and start one or two new ones!


Lemme throw out the first set of ride-thru-history suggestions, and we can build from there with everyone's favorite candidates!

1955-1964 - Matterhorn Bobsleds debuted in 1959. How can any Disneyland festival be complete without that exciting bobsled ride down its icy slopes? Jungle Cruise was there from beginning, and has just been refreshed with its first new elements in decades for the 50th anniversary.

1965-1974 - Oh, it's pretty much a no-brainer here. In fact, the entire "two rides from each decade" concept was devised to incorporate the two outstanding attractions that Walt Disney worked on last: Pirates of the Caribbean from 1967 and The Haunted Mansion from 1969. Anyone even thinking of not including these on the list of Disneyland's best-ever attractions?

1975-1984 - Oooooooh, Space Mountain will be open again!!!! The 1977 phenomenon is back for the 50th and we are sooo going to be riding it! The other biggie from this period is, imho, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad from 1979. Goat trick, anyone?

1985-1994 - Splash Mountain premiered in 1989. Let's all go to our laughing place! Hmmm, we might have to go with Star Tours as our second wave choice from this rather lackluster era of Disneyland development, but at least it's a very StarWarsian year to take that hectic trip to Endor.

1995-present - Uh-oh, the last E-Ticket added to the Park was The Indiana Jones Aventure in 1995. We may just have to venture to DCA for the second waive attraction. Or are we really going to consider elevating Buzz Lightyear to the level of Matterhorn, Pirates, Big Thunder, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion and Splash?


Them's my suggestions. What are yours?

Rides, Hotel Parties, Traditions, Bar-Hops, Internet Meets, Fireworks, Friends and So Much Freaking Fun. FiftyFantastic!!!

Yeah,
fvck that guy..
I would rather try and do 7,463 with a ton of people. ;)

I'm missing more opening-day attractions on our agenda.

We HAVE to ride the Carousel. Have to.

Other opening-day attractions include:

• Pan
• Toad
• Snow
• Carousel
• Casy Jr.
  
• Teacups
• Dumbo
• Canal Boats
• Autopia
• Jungle
• DL Railroad
• Horse Drawn Streetcars
• MS Cinema
• Golden Horseshoe
• Mark Twain

Personally, I would include the Teacups on my agenda since it was my all-time favorite ride (along with the Matterhorn) when I was a youngster of about 3.

I want to get a pic of the birthday boy, sitting in the teacups wearing his golden ears and sticker.:evil:

iSm's votes are swell, in my opinion. I'd wish for the best-of-the-best on Sunday, since it's the actual anniversary. This, of course, is subjective, and really, any of these rides are great.

I'd vote:
First decade-
Saturday Matterhorn Bobsleds
Sunday Jungle Cruise

Second decade-
Saturday Haunted Mansion
Sunday Pirates of the Caribbean

Third decade
Saturday Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Sunday Space Mountain

Fourth decade
Saturday Star Tours
Sunday Splash Mountain

Fifth decade
Saturday... ? Good luck, folks.
Sunday Indiana Jones

I like the lineup, :iSm: (maybe swap Roger Rabbit for Star Tours), but I see CP and I breaking off a lot for some individual ride experiences (right darling?). Carousel is definitely a necessity for us as carousels hold a bit o' romance for us. I'd also have a hard time ignoring the Tiki room. And I'm sure some other things will grab our attention on the spot. So we'll probably take advantage of the usual fluidity of the group, and maybe during the hotter parts of the day when I'm sure a lot of people will start to be looking to take a break we'll have energy to go wonder off and do our own thing.

Hmmmm - I'm really thinking I'd like to try to do all the attractions - since they all will be open. I know doing them in order cannot be done - but hitting all of them in a day - that just might be possible...

I'm taking Friday off, maybe I should attempt it then...

Ooooh, good call on Roger subbing for Star Tours. Roger, that. Oooh, and how can we miss Tiki Room? Or the Mark Twain on Disneyland Birthday? There are other good sentimental suggestions, too.

Third Wave anyone?

I've got Monday off...

I'm pretty sure you're all going to have to skip work on Monday so we can truly do justice to this list.

Me too...

This all looks too fun to be legal, but, alas, I'll be at Comic-Con! Have fun for me, everyone!! :cheers: :coffee: :cheers: :coffee:

How about aiming for the truncated list with the whole mound-o-people? So that those wanting to do more rides can continue on and people can split off? I really do like the idea of getting everybody on one ride together. Remember how we filled every seat in Pan last year? I'm not suggesting we go on Pan (Remember! Hell-cum-queue!) but I think we should at least try to go for one a decade, or one original day ride, all together before people split to cover their own agenda.

And I respect that some of you want to ride every ride. It's regular park hours, though, and I think it may well be much worse than the 5th. Do you really think that more than a few rides are even possible?

On the 5th, it was easy to ride rides as most of the attraction lines were very short. Of course, people were standing in line for food for hours and waiting for presentations. I doubt the same thing will take place on the BD weekend.

I want to see us all take up the entire Carousel!

I doubt it possible on the 17th, but the 15th or especially the 18th - that's another story and would be the 50th anniversary of the park being open to the General public (17th was invitation only, like the 4th this year).

I'm just excited by the fact that all attractions will be open - when's the last time that happend? And what a more fitting tribute than riding them all.

Well, I've got Monday off, too. I'm all for a third wave, or having special Opening Day dispensation from the "pattern," or Sentimental Favorite Add-ons. I'm even for trying to do every ride in the Park over 3 days ... but adhering to chronological order is not something I want to attempt with a crowd on any crowded summer day.

Agreed, you need special circumstances to pull that one off - like the 6:00AM opening for the Pirate's Primier.

With normal operating hours, you'd sweep through land by land with detours to accomodate fastpasses and showtimes.

I applaud you for giving it a shot!

As long as there's a few good rides (and I like the decades idea) that everybody does together, I'll just go with the flow.

Oh, as it's co-creator, I LOVE the decades idea, and think that it's perfect for large groups who want to participate in either Wave 1 on Saturday or Wave 2 on Sunday.

But rounding out those big attractions with more sentimental favorites (Teacups, Carousel, Train or Twain) or big shows that just missed the cut (Tiki), or even trying to complete the roster of every Disneyland attraction - those are things that can be filled in around the Big Waves of Disney Decades by smaller groups, cozy couples, or even loner geeks.

Me three.

Or here's a brainstorm I had over lunch: Instead of the Disneyland Top 10, how about The Disneyland Dozen - featuring two from each Magic Kingdom Decade plus two that have been there since opening day! Two waves of 6 attractions each. Manageable and fun.

Now we can include Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room in its rightful place as a highlight of Disneyland's First Decade. We can then celebrate the new additions to The Jungle Cruise as an opening day attraction, and the one that's had the most revisions and additions since then. And we can add another sentimental favorite from opening day - - what will it be? The Mark Twain, the Disneyland Railroad, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Peter Pans' Flight, The Mad Tea Party, King Arthur Carrousel??? Oooh, so many good originals to choose from - that we simply must add Opening Day attractions as its own "category" separate and apart from the subsequent five decades of Disneyland development. :snap:

Toad... Toad... Toad

It's a toss-up, between the Carousel, the train, and the cups....

Probably the Train, to pay homage to Walt. Plus, we can sit for a while.:D

Rope drop dash to the castle gates where we ride all the Fantasyland Darkrides

I vote down Pan. It's nearly my favorite, but I don't think we want to brave that line in a group again. All the others are swell, though.

...but the pretty pretty stars?

Cups, Caurosel, Train. I want them ALLLLLLLLLL! Besides, the train is a wonderful way to take a break for a bit.

The mistake with Pan was doing it a 1 in the freaking afternoon. If we do it in the morning, it shouldn't be a problem.

Yep, an early morning drawbridge run with the reward of Peter Pan before the lines that make it the most unattainable of attractions seems like the perfect way to make it work for us!!!

I propose that Jungle Cruise and Peter Pan's Flight be the Opening Day attractions of the Disneyland Decades Dozen Quest!

(And perhaps there can be a separate "Gonna Take a Sentimental Journey" for hitting the rails for a grand circle tour of Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom aboard The Disneyland Railroad, cruising around the Rivers of America aboard The Mark Twain, and riding off into the sunset again and again and again on a steed of King Arthur's Caroussel.)

I know I can't be there, but I like to think I'd be gracious enough to...

Adopt a guest. That is to say, go out of my way at least a few times during the day to help a fellow guest for no real reason at all. Find the last guy in line at splash and give him/her a ready to use fastpass, Find someone looking for directions and escort them where they are going while imparting a bit of disney lore along the way (hey did you know there's a b-ball court in that thing?), purchase a half dozen dole whipps and just give them away, that sort of thing.

Good luck to all of you who will be there on that magical day. :)

Thats sweet. What did you do, follow me around at the Tiki meet?
We gave a stranger our fastpasses to Buzz, bought an older couple some cokes and a snack, and helped a family with mutiple children get everyone in and out of a restroom.

The older couple was so sweet and appreciative. The child and I had heard them talk about what he was to buy for her, then he just had to sit, the line was long, and he was just to tired to stand right then.
The child decided we shoudl get a drink for him, but I placed the whole order we had overheard.
Its funny what people think when you do something nice. Sometimes they think Thank you just isnt enough.
Enjoy the magical day. Think of me slaving away in San Diego.

:snap: I have Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off..... :D Tina will be there those same days, too, I'm pretty sure.

Great idea! In the first hour, you can ride EVERY Fantasyland attraction with walk-ons or very minimal lines--and riding Peter Pan first, of course. However, this probably cannot be done on July 17th IF there is going to be a formal ceremony--and most of us would probably want to watch it. But, storming the castle and Fantasyland rides after rope drop would work on any other day. So far, everyone's ideas sound plausible and flexible enough for most people. iSm's concept for the decades theme and multiple waves sounds good, too. :)

Well, I won't get there in time for that, but I do have an early entry into Fantasyland that I can use on Monday or Tuesday, I think....

I like Moonliner's idea- sort of a random acts of kindness thing. Probably get our asses kicked by whomever we are trying to help, but it would be fun anyway. Hmmm... might make an interesting report: What happens at DL when guests are nice to other guests.

Or you could go directly into the twilight zone and perpetrate random kindness on cast members. :D

Nah, that just freaks them out and they get all suspicious and stuff.

(Just kidding- I do try and do nice things for CM's- I leave positive comment cards and am very nice.)

Oh feck it!

I'm going to request that Monday off, NOW....

I'm going to revel, dammit!

Yeah!!! Too cool- looks like Monday will be our 'do everything we couldn't do this weekend' day. Except work, of course.:D

I'll be there Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday leaving Tuesday I think. I'll have my SIL Cynthia with me(whom many of you have met)and my friends Dave & Jeff(again many of you have met) and I know they we are down for
:snap: :cheers: :)

I am getting so excited!

I'm down for joining the revelry and the Random Acts of Kindness!

On a side note, if any of the planned attractions go down, what should be our backup plan, or perhaps have a backup attraction? The Disney Gallery may not contain all of us if we get to be too large of a large group. There's also Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years; though it is brand spankin' new, it IS nonetheless a air-conditioned, sitting down tribute to Uncle Walt.

Thoughts?

I can also add that doing Peter Pan and the Matterhorn we can do one cool thing if there are enough people. TAKE THEM OVER! It was very, very cool to be getting onto Peter Pan and having the first "Swanker" just getting off the ride. ;)

Now THAT sounds awesome! :D

I want to take over the Caurosel.

Carousel sounds amazing to me....how many fit on that thing?

You'd think we'd know that by now after this many MouseAdventures.

tI used to be 72, but that was before they took out the 4 for the bench. So, I believe the current number is 68.

I'm not a geek or anything.

Of course, people can sit on the bench, so that's back up to 72

I'm down for that. Taking over rides is cool!

I can't wait for my trip in July! I'm counting the days!!!!

I hate to be the one to break it, but we'd have to reach out to the micechat folks if we want to take over the Caroussel. I mean, I don't think we've ever had more than 35 or 40 at our big meets (and frankly, I don't want any more than that on either of our two Decade waves - - the difficulty factor would become unmanageable).

Some of us who are mods over at MiceChat (cough*me*Not Afraid*zapppop*cough) might be obligated to attend a brief meet with the micechatters on the 16th. Should we suggest going on one ride with them and all joining forces to take over the Caroussel?

I totally think MiceChatters would get involved - there's certainly enough. :D

I'm up for that. Or, we can just take over 1/2 a Carousel (not as swanky).

OMG, I totally forgot to mention Disneyphile as a micechat mod in my last coughing fit. Regrets. And, yeah, for a good cause like taking over the Caroussel (with Not Afraid riding Golden Jingles for having the idea), we can certainly enlist the help of micechatters.

And ugh, Disguy posts here sometimes. Dustysage has even been known to poke his head in. And, um, Monorail Man anyone? Lordy, this place is THICK with micechat mods!!

Hi, remember me. ;)

And Tina too!

YAY! Jungles is MY horse anyways, isn't it?

Two more?!?!? This board must be breeding the overlords of other boards!!


And Lisa, Jungles is that ride you like in Adventureland; the lead Caroussel horse is named "Jingles."

You can have Jungles. Or perhaps we'll both call Jungles by name and see who it responds to.

I am definitely up for carousel craziness, but I sure as hell ain't gonna be the Geek Wrangler for 70 of us. :D We'll be there.

Thanks OK. I'm a very good geek wrangler. I've cut my teeth with some of the geekiest. ;)

And, ISM, :p

I love the idea of overtaking the Carousel, and would also love to join forces with MC'ers. Of course, this is how rumors get started- I can see it now:
The frenzied assistant raced into his superior's office, and in a panic-stricken voice said " The internet is buzzing with the rumor that disgruntled AP'ers are going to take over Fantasyland on the 17th!" His supervisor blinked, then swallowed. "Uhm, okay- I'll let the Boss know". Many hours (and supervisors) later, a tremulous lackey slips a memo under Eisner's door, reluctant to disturb his viewing of "Desperate Housewives". The memo reads:
Credible sources indicate an intended domestic terror attack on Disneyland and it's environs during the 50th anniversary celebrations. We have notified the Department of Homeland Security and they have agreed to elevate the color status to orangish-red. As a precautionary measure, we are charging an additional $25 entry fee on July 17th, 2005, to offset the expense of extra security around the merchandising events.

Eisner pales a little, and with trembling fingers, he punches the speed-dial on his telephone. "Hello? Jane? When was the Markovitz bar mitzvah? July 17th? No problem, tell them we'd love to come! Oh, the Birthday thing? Ahhh, Bob's got it handled....."

LMAO Wendy!! LMAO!!!

A terrorist threat... nice...

Oh my I've been away a few days and have so much to post about here


The 50-hour party - So far no response to my emails, but I had an encouraging encounter at city hall where I asked about the 50-hour party. They claimed no knowledge of it, but said I should check back because things often get added at the last minute (guest invites to the May 4th celebration). The city Hall CMs were very enthusiastic about the 50-hour idea and thought it would be cool - of course, this might be the same as when Not Afraid agrees with my sightings of funnel clouds...

All the Attractions in One Day - I took awalk through the park yesterday and was thrilled that soon all the attractions will be up and running making the geek quest possible. That is until I came to Toon Town and saw the unused track of the Jolly Trolly starting to show signs of tarnish from dissuse. If this attraction is not running our quest results will have to be astericked and ultimately not as grand as it could have been. I of course let City Hall know that I hoped the Jolly Trolly would be running for Disneyland's birthday.

Main Street Cinema - I have always considered this an opening day attraction but apparently Disney does not - no plaquared on the ride, no gilded screen (though one of the films does have a yellow inged print). The Cm I spoke with cliamed the change from one screen to six makes this a different attraction, but considering the evolution of storybookland I find this arguement to have little merit. Also the silver screen versus gilded screen controversey hold little water for me.

Other Stuff - While I like the tribute of riding a collection of rides through the Disney Decade, I think we need to do something to pay tribute to the 5 original lands of the park - perhaps this is something we can work into our dining selections over the weekend?

I would've love to be a fly in the wall after € got done talking to the Guest Services CM. Her conversation might've gone something like this:

*looks up from laying around, still lazy after closing the park last night*
*gestures vaguely*

Uh, yeah. I agree with plans, and stuff.

*drops back into semi-sleep state*

Okay then, I can think of several LoT'ers and a couple of CMs I would vote for.

Hopefully I'll get to ride at least those two of them!!!



Oh, I'm going straight to hell for this post!

I like this idea!

Maybe we can really spice things up for the "Decades" crawl with the added "Drugs of the Decades Enhancements"

'55-'65: Marijuana - While this may not have been the prime time for the evolution of this herb, it seems as ggod a place as any to start.

'65-'75: LSD - C'mon... if Alice... and many other Disney elements were not inspired by lysergic acid diethylamide, what was it then? This was the decade that saw the Timothy Leary experience reach its zenith.

'75-'85: Cocaine - Ah yes; the magic white powder; destructor of many careers and erections and fodder for an Eric Clapton tune. This elixer really hit its stride in the tail-end of the Disco era.

'85-'95: Crack - And to think it all started with Richard Pryor running down the street on fire. Let's head to the den everybody!

'95-present: Ecstacy - This was a tough decade to call: so many choices! But those Rave kids sold me!

So lets all light up to make this adventure, the "Wildest Quest in the West"





If reading this, I got any facts wrong, please forgive me! I've never actually taken any recreational drugs of any kind in my life. Although some might argue otherwise based on some behaviors!

I dunno....Meth seems to be pretty popular these days.:rolleyes:

I'm up for anything. I'll be at the Park Inn. I say all these plans sound good. We should leave a chunk of time in the schedule for spontaneity.

We also have to figure out how early we can get there in the morning to stand in line to get in. Anyone know how early we can do so?

Also, I know I will need food breaks. Big huge breakfast, big huge lunch and a big huge dinner and a big huge dessert... Otherwise I become Dark, Moody, Evil Cricket. Also, a glass of red wine from DCA (I know, ugh) never hurts either.

Also, we need to also plan for our ever present, random and frequent trips to the happiest potties on earth during our 50th extravaganza festivities.

:)

I'm starting to think we should have different focuses on the two days - perhaps Disney decades one one day, the different lands on the other. I'd see Sunday, the actual birthday being more structured - to account for other meets, official presentations etc. - while Sunday maybe a better time to be more LoT centric - perhaps exploring Disney Swank.

A Swank day! :snap::cheers::snap:

Let's swarm Club 33!
;)

Another thought - does anyone know what some of the other meets are over the weekend? I checked some of the boards calanders and they seem to be lacking - i.e. MiceChat shows a weekly meeting on Sunday from 5:00 AM to 5:30 AM.

That info might help us plan a bit better for the occasion.

I'd love to, but Blue Bayou would suit me fine, or the hearthstone. Anyone remember when there was a bar atop the Disneyland Hotel? Now that would be swanky...

If you really, really want to pay homage, then LoT should create a color copy reproduction ticket book featuring the rides that are on the agenda, each attributed to their respective A-E level. Yes, I know that that the A-E concept debuted after the '55 opening, but this concept falls in line with the Decades plan.

Plus, it'll create a unique hard-copy souvenir of your highly personalized experience of the day.

There should also be a solemn Skyway processional that follows the path of the late, lamented attraction.

(Dodging the the whole "Through the Matterhorn" bit, however. No scaling the mountain for authenticity. You'll go to Mickey jail. As a former detainee of the Happiest Lock-up on Earth, I can testify. You don't want to go there.)

Brilliant! - but well beyond my skill level, any volunteers?

Hmmm there's plenty of possibilities for homages to past attractions - Motorboat Cruise, Flight to the Moon, People Mover, etc - we could lay wreaths...

I'm supposing that the LoT day is supposed to be Saturday.

We would bring the red longjohns but that's for dead people, not dead attractions. ;)

If someone could help me get a hold of an E-Ticket booklet and/or hi-quality scans, I could definitely pull off a swanky prototype. ;)

Actually, I already have a CM fact book from this year's Cast Blast that's meant to look like an E-ticket booklet, which already includes a quick historical rundown. Possibly we could use its layout as the basis of our booklet. I'm working right now to upload some images from it before I run off tonight.

Okay, uploaded some good pics of the fact book I mentioned above, click the thumbs for the full-size:

I've been lucky enough to see the real thing. It's really well put together!

I have several real ticket books. Maybe I should scan the suckers.

No need to, I just found this little treasure trove of old ticket books.

http://www.perrific.com/disney/tickets/tickets.html

Ok, taking over the entire carrousel is SO not going to be a problem. We just had 30 people at a MiceChat meet yesterday, and more are slated to attend future meets. We just need to figure out a time. :D

If it's to be on the 16th, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make it for afternoon or evening! My flight got moved and I won't get in until around 2:00 pm. We're going into John Wayne, so we can grab a taxi and get to the hotel (Park Inn) pretty quick.

I just made the final payment on our trip- yeah!!!

I'm broke, but at least it's paid for!:D

I was hearing predictions of capacity being reached by 10am... Now I'm reading that people are planning on lining up at midnight the night before... And I'm wondering...how in the heck is DL mass of people control going to handle this? Are they actually going to allow the mass line-ups over night in the Esplanade? Will they keep bag check (as much of a sham that it is) open all night? Or will the celebration be limited to the drop off areas and DTD... Anyone know? Anyone want to take a random guess? Anyone else wondering this?

You know, you guys, the more I read about the speculative 50-hour posts, the more I wish I would be in town in July. Nothing says PARTY like deliberate (and brute force) insomnia coupled with heady Disney-esque camaraderie.

The consolation would be that we do plan to be in Paris later in the fall, and money-permitting, an Orlando holiday early next year.

July 17 is blocked out for Deluxe APs. Has this been the case in previous years? I'm guessing it's due to the anticipated large crowds.

I just got back a response from my first email to Disney about buying tickets for the 50-hour party. Then sent me a list of all their ticket options, so I responded that from their reply I presume that one one-day admission will give me access for the whole 50-hours as long as I don't leave the park.

I'll report any further follow-up.

You keep at it, €uro! Lol!:snap:

I shall will it into existence!

failing that, I shall wish Michael Eisner under the corn field ;)

I shall never eat corn again.
;)

I'm really starting to worry about all this.

Perhaps any plans we make should end early-ish on Saturday so that we have energy for a FULL DAY on Sunday? I know I plan on being there at opening because if I show up any later and the gates are closed, I'll never forgive myself. And we won't be able to leave, either.

After 05/05/05, does anyone still believe that the park won't close its gates? Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they sold out on the 16th, too.

You and me both, sister. This is why we're not coming on Saturday, why we're hoping to get a hotel even though we live in LA, why I thought that hitting so many rides would be difficult [especially in the heat with the crowds and no ability to leave], and why I'm especially concerned about the availability of AP blackout tickets (and the logistics of getting them if you're waiting in line for the gate.)

If you don't have a hotel reservation yet, you're nuts.

We aren't staying in a hotel, even though I kind of wish we were, so we wouldn't have to deal with the parking. And we live 15 min away.

After 05/05 though, I think parking/tram won't be that much of a problem. It was easliey the best-handled thing that day.

best-handled thing??

From what I heard people were lining up before 5am on the 5th. I think that getting there at opening won't guarentee park entry. I have no doubts the park will hit capacity and I think it'll hit earlier than anyone expects.

I know I'm bringing my backpack with snacks and water, getting a locker and preparing for a very looooong day. I feel very bad for unsuspecting tourists making a once in a life time trip during that weekend. I hope it isn't as crazy as we're all expecting.

Steph, As far as I recall, the only time 7/17 has been a block out day was when 7/17 fell on a regular scheduled block out day.

A rumor posted on MC says:

To me, this sounds like a fiasco. I will be entering through the Monorail gates at 9:15.

I've been to DL ONCE when they've actually closed the gates, and it was NOT on 05-05-05. I will risk it and avoid the madness. If I want a pin, I'll shop ebay the following week.

I am NOT lining up at 2:00 am like people did on the 5th.

This I can't believe. Do you really think there will be 60,000 people there at 9am? SIXTY THOUSAND?

That is doubtful. But, people will wait all night because they think that is the case. Hey, have a good time! See you all at 9:30. ;)

I'm still thinking about this...I mean, I'd be WAY impressed if 10,000 showed up at opening. I wonder how many were there at 9am on 05/05.

Aw! Where's your sense of adventure???? (Besides at home in bed like a smart person would do. ;))

Viva la midnight line party!!!!! :gnome::cheers: :gnome::cheers: :gnome::cheers: :gnome::cheers: :gnome::cheers:

What I said came out wrong..

Every hotel in the area is booked. There are a ton of locals. People without rooms are driving in that night. I didn't mean the park will close one minute after opening. Being the 2nd to last person allowed through bag check before they closed it down on the 5th I can tell you a LOT of people fit in the Esplanade. A LOT.

I don't know if I am going to camp out all night, but I know I will be there for some of it. I think that that weekend will be one hellofa weekend and a once in a life time memory.

Just FYI, I just checked Expedia, there are still hotels available.

If I cared about pins, I might line up overnight, I've heard the rumor about the pins to the first 5,000 people before, and the pins do sound cool, but, as it turns out, I don't care much about pins.

It's going to be a long day in the park. I'm going to sleep that night.

Currently the DL website has hours for DL of 8:00 a.m. to midnight.

MousePlanet ran a photo of the first people lined up for May 5 taken at 11 PM on May 4. I don't believe the rumor of "lifetime passes" for the first few. I would hope they would be a bit more savvy than that. Talk about recipe for a riot...

Too bad they don't have the prize machine like they did many years ago. It would randomly draw a prize for you as you went thru the turnstile. I won a free soda,I think, it was a long time ago.

I won plush Mickey & Minnie dolls. Still have them with the tags on somewhere.

Lifetime passes to the first 50 people? What a way to start the day--pushing, fighting, "but I arrived first, you just knocked me over on the way to the turnstile," "but I arrived first, it's no fair that you came empty-handed so you didn't have to wait through bag check," "but I'm an AP, dammit," "but I was first in the monorail entrance line and I've been here since 2 AM; how come I didn't get one?" :rolleyes:

Oh, believe me, I will stop by the midnight party before retiring to slumber some where TBD. But, I have spent too many nights of my life "camping" in unofficial campgrounds to do it again. I found the easier, softer way to be much more fun in the long run. Experience has taught me much and now I am old and wise and don't want to be awake for many, many hours on the hard, hard ground. ;)


Besides, they are not giving away cars like they did in the past. Pins be damned.

The number I heard for May 5th is that 35,000 entered the park in the first 3 hours that the park was open. They did not reach capacity on May 5th, according to a Security CM.

The fact that July 17, 2005 is a blackout date for all Annual Passports except for Premium may deter some casual, not-so-diehard Disneyland fans from going on Disneyland's actual birthday.

Disney is bound to make a lot of extra money that day at $30 per every non-Premium Annual Passport. So, I wonder if every ticket window will be open before 8 a.m. on July 17 to accommodate both regular-ticket guests and Annual Passholders buying blackout-day tickets?

Dissappointing News from the Mouse
 

I got another email from Disneyland:

Thank you for your e-mail to the Disneyland Resort.

If I can't spend the night in the park, I won't be spending the night in the Esplanade.

It must be said:

Bastards!

Well, we'll just have our own party, so there!

Oh, you bet we're partying. And it won't be on cement either.

Looking back to the experience of running into CMs at the park on May 5th, and how utterly exhausted most said they were, I wonder if they are part of the reason that DL is not rushing to make any plans for the 50 hour party. They may not have the staff capacity to keep the park operating for 50 hours. Just a thought...

Nonesense: if they can do back-to-back Grad Nights (which they do) this shouldn't be a problem at all. They could also limit ticket sales to this event to match their desired level of capacity/profit margin.

Ya know, I'm thinking sanity precludes me from wanting to stay awake for two and-a-half days running. I still remember how miserably tired I got for the 25th!
I'll be at the Park on the 17th, and if they want to stay open until 2 or 3 in the morning, great, but 50 hours is begging for First Aid to be run ragged. ElmoMeinke is right, the Park is capable of running non-stop, I just don't think guests are. I remember people camping out in the exit area of Circlevision because it was air-conditioned, I'd imagine that in this case, Great Moments with Mr. Martin and Innoventions would end up being campgrounds. Sad for one, a brilliant improvement fot the other.
50 hour party? A fun idea, but in reality, nothing more than your AP is going to get you anyhow. Of course, that said, if DL opened before dawn on the 17th, with breakfast going full blast at every restaurant, and stayed open until 2 AM, with coffee and dessert going full blast, and everything was open and staffed from Park opening 'til Park closing, I would be a very happy Mousketeer indeed.

Damnit Jim, will ya stop with this stuff... I just don't have enough mojo for you!

LMAO!

Sometimes I have no control. It's like my typing fingers all turn into little Charlie McCarthys.

Really now.....

:cool:

I propose that you add some simulcastle-like :rolleyes: activities to your anniversary agenda, assuming someone on the east coast feels like getting up and being in a hot crowded Magic Kingdom on the 17th, which they might not.

Proposed agenda items might include:

• Teacup spinoff
• Simultaneous mirror image rides of Big Thunder Mountain
• Matterhorn and "dark matterhorn" (i.e., Space Mountain)
• Watching of cartoons in the Main Street Cinema and watching Disney commercials in the shop that used to be the Main Street Cinema
• Peoplemover Ride/Peoplemover Walk of Remembrance
• Mark Twain (toot toot!)

Toot toot?!? Wha-huh? Hello?

Waiter, get this woman another gin fizz, she's starting to see double! And make mine a triple!

Great ideas Matterhorn Fan. I will most likely not be in attendance at either park, but I will be there in spirit. :)

I think I'm gonna hit up all the currently operating attractions where guests have met untimely ends.

What about major injuries as a second tier?

I know I'll be hitting Blue Bayou at 5:50pm, but beyond that I figure my day will be about beating the heat.

Just booked my flight! I paid for my Wicked ticket a while ago....without booking my airfare. You can see where my priorities are. ;)

I'll be in town (well, SNA) at 11 a.m. on the 15th and leaving at 8:50 p.m. on the 19th.

Sweet! We can bring a high-pressure hose to simulate the spraying off of the ex-guests.

How about simply a spatula?

Need a ride? :D