55 and 50 Party - Disneyland and Zlick!

[mousepod]

We'll be there. I've heard of Zlick (big fan), but what is this Disneyland you're all talking about?

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by mousepod

...but what is this Disneyland you're all talking about?

It's that dumpy little place across from Disney California Adventure

[Morrigoon]

Steve, all your parties are epic. I'm sure this one will be no exception. So as long as work cooperates (and regardless of it, since the party will probably be as long as "New Year's"), I'm so totally there.

[innerSpaceman]

Big Changes are coming to the Disneyland Hotel, an institution that has changed, and changed and changed again so many times it could make your head bellhop spin. This time, the Neverland Pool is being expanded to cover the area now occupied by the Lost Bar and adjacent grassy paradise. The new section of the pool will feature a phenomenal double water slide, with a replica of the old “Disneyland” sign on top, and a course that will take plungers through the shells of iconic Disneyland monorails! It’s going to be rad.






But what will be lost is beyond sad. The waterfalls at the foot of the Bonita tower are, to paraphrase Disney parlance, Flowing Away Forever. Le sigh. They’ve certainly been an iconic part of the Disneyland Hotel for as long as I’ve known the place - they were installed in 1978 when I first moved to California! In a hotel always full of evolving features and activities, they were (imo) the most Disneyland-like in their creation of a themed environment. I’ll be so sad to see them go.









Also getting the axe are the Cove Pool and the Koi Pond. In fact, the koi have already been removed - but to where remains a mystery. Some say they’ve moved to The Huntington Library, but other evidence points to a darker destiny for the koi.




















In any event, a rendering of the new layout reveals there’s nothing but a new grassy paradise planned for the area where the waterfalls and koi once reigned.








My apologies for any of you getting repeats of these updates through facebook or evite, but I don’t want to leave anyone out - because everyone on the LoT is invited, but I don’t have everyone’s email address or facebook friendship. So I’ll be bumping this thread every few days with a Countdown to 55/50 photo spread of the Disneyland Hotel - so you can get a fun run through its history as we lead up to the big event in July.







A rare color shot of the original Disneyland Hotel sign. It will be swell to have a replica back on the property.









Arriving by Monorail was a unique and stylish way to get to the Disneyland Hotel - with regular service starting in 1961 (and stopping in 2001, even though the station didn’t move - - just the hotel did.)








Arriving by helicopter was another stylish way to get the hotel in the early ‘60’s - when there was regular service between The Disneyland Hotel and LAX.









World of Color may be all the rage at the Resort this season, but Disneyland’s original fountain show was right here at the Disneyland Hotel. Performances finally came to a halt in the early years of the 21st Century. I guess they’ll finally get around to removing the facility when they demolish the waterfalls.








Jack and Bonita Wrather and family posing in front of the first guest room tower to be built at the Disneyland Hotel. Um, the outdoor elevator to the Top of the Park Lounge was built on the wrong side to allow the proper name of the hotel to be displayed. That was soon fixed with an addition to the Sierra Tower in the mid-sixties. Two more guest towers followed in the seventies, and the center of activity at the hotel moved west.




It’s dizzying how many different incarnations the hotel has had ... but I daresay that despite how cool the monorail water slides will be, the new version of the Disneyland Hotel will feature its least variety of features and activities ever. Worse yet, all the guest rooms are being “hermetically sealed.” There will no longer be sliding glass doors opening toward the bustling quad, nor any opening windows, nor any balconies.





We can only ponder the fate of the Wrather/Marina/Presidential Suite where the Fifty Five Fifty Party will take place. Its character and charm relies heavily on access to the great outdoors of the Disneyland Hotel quad vortex of fun. Just one more reason not to miss this fabulous party. After all, the magnificent Wrather Suite could be flowing away forever, too. And don’t forget to say farewell to the waterfalls while you’re here!

[innerSpaceman]

It’s now T-Minus Ten Days and Counting to the extraordinary Fifty Five Fifty double birthday party at the Disneyland Hotel on July 16th. Construction is kicking into higher gear for the latest renaissance of the hotel, and I’ve seen some encouragement that not every room in the hotel is going to be hermetically sealed. Right now, they’re working on the roof right above the Wrather Suite. The next couple of years will likely see the biggest changes since the late ‘70’s.








From 1961 to 2009, the Monorail Station was part of the Disneyland Hotel, as was everything between the current “Downtown Disney” station and where the hotel now “starts” at the Sierra Tower.











The Marina Tower was completed in 1970, marking the westward shift of the hotel’s focus to a quad between the towers.









This cover of the Hotel’s 1968 edition of Check-In magazine depicts the fantastic marina planned between the recently expanded Sierra Tower (1966) and the coming-soon Marina Tower (1970).











An artist’s rendering of the Disneyland Hotel in its magnificent heyday of the Eighties. With the completion of the Bonita Tower in 1978, the Hotel reached its pinnacle of magnificence.









The vast marina made it seem as if the entire quad between the towers was flooded with water.











The Marina was dotted with miniature and model ships - including this replica of the Queen Mary, which was also owned by the Wrathers (and later by Disney when it finally bought out them out in 1989).









Paddle boats ply the Marina at the height of available activities for children of all ages.












A page from the Hotel’s guest magazine indicates how plentiful - and how plenty corny - the Hotel’s entertainment and activity offerings were in the fabulous Eighties. I heart the ‘80’s!!!






As we know, things have changed a bit since then, when the vast marina was drained and the Neverland Pool was built in the quad, to replace the Olympic Pool lost to Downtown Disney construction.

You’ll be able to enjoy a last-chance bird’s-eye view of the current configuration of the ever-changing quad, and see the start of construction as the Hotel is transformed once again. Friday night, July 16th. Hope to see you there!



A word about Parking:

There are actually 3 options available:

1) If you have the right kind of AP, you can park for free in the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure. It’s a short walk from there to the Disneyland Hotel, and it’s safe to leave cars in the Structure till the wee hours of the morning.


2) Free Parking at the Disneyland Hotel - Follow signs to Downtown Disney / Disneyland Hotel onto Magic Way - and take the second left from Magic Way to the Disneyland Hotel. Follow the signs to Self Parking.

Self Parking at the Disneyland Hotel will be FREE - but you may have to make two elevator trips between the 11th floor and the Front Desk to show them a room key in exchange for an exit voucher. At some point after midnight, the parking lot ticket booth will close and you’ll be able to exit for free without an exit voucher.


3) Downtown Disney - Follow signs to Downtown Disney / Disneyland Hotel onto Magic Way - and take the first left from Magic Way into the Downtown Disney parking area. The first 3 hours are free, or - with a validation from any Downtown Disney business establishment, the first 5 hours are free. After that, technically, the lot charges $6 per hour (with a maximum of $30) - but the ticket booth closes around midnight and you’ll be able to exit for free any time after that.





oooooh, Ten Days to Go!!!!

[wolfy999]

Looks like Hubby and I will make it....can't see getting off Medical Leave until at least August. Sounds like the party of a lifetime!

[Disneyphile]

For those who lack APness, there's always the retro Disneyland slide show event that MousePlanet is presenting on the 17th:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/9266/Mous...iversary_Party

I think we've talked about it as a possible swanking at one point, so here's a chance.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

We've seen this before and it's totally awesome, well worth the entrance fee.

[Prudence]

Party!

[Gn2Dlnd]

Hmm, it seems Mr. Zlick has more influence than any of us ever imagined...