Leap Day at Disneyland

[Ghoulish Delight]

I believe he's spending more time in the park(s?) today.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Some favorite moments from my brief 4 hour stint:

* 3AM Big Thunder
* Holding NA and BtD hostage
* Hugs, hugs, hugs
* Stellar Jungle Cruise skipper (Andrew/Jenny) who managed to match and surpass our manic energy
* Brilliant Storybook skipper David
* A moment I happened to witness outside of Small World at around 5AM when two people who apparently knew each other and were surprised to bump into each other embraced in sheer giddy joy
* An exhausted crowd of people summoning the last of their energy to leap and dance with the Pearly Band at 5:30
* Emerging from Peter Pan to find daylight
* Lineup of white-Mickey-gloved CMs saying goodbye/good morning as we exited, with pajama-robed characters waving from the train station.

Nights like that don't, and can't, happen enough.

[BarTopDancer]

That was so much fun! I actually left around 4 trying to beat the mass exodus and the line for the Toy Story bus was 45 minutes long. Went back in the park (10 minute line at the single turn style), met back up at Jungle Cruise. So glad I did.

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

* Stellar Jungle Cruise skipper (Andrew/Jenny) who managed to match and surpass our manic energy

Andrew/Jenny was amazing!

A/J - "That was a big explosion. Let's go closer!"
Us - "YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A/J - cracking up so hard he missed 3 jokes.

Facebook, Twitter and the overall data connection was jack and squat. We drained our phones looking for signal and spent over an hour hovered around the single outlet in Hungry Bear charging our phones. Next time we bring a power strip and multiple iPhone chargers. Much thanks to KS for allowing me to borrow her charger and to Moonie for letting me use his portable charger.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Nights like that don't, and can't, happen enough.

Well it sure seems like that, the last one having been 25 years ago. But on that occasion, it was the third overnight "in a row" ('85 - 30th birthday, '86 - opening of EO, '87 - opening of Star Tours) - and I gotta tell ya, it was wearing thin. I heard many people express that opinion who'd been to all three in as many years.

And there was some rowdy behavior in the Park, apparently, and they stopped having the overnights. Um, going by the mania of last night - I think something between Every Year and Once a Quarter Century is warranted.

*********************

Someone tweeted this morning that it was the best time at the Park since the 50th, and I happened to read that just as I was scanning some photos from the 50th into digital form (from the prints GD and CP were kind enough to give me) ... and I noticed an odd thing: The only couples, gay or straight*, in "our group" who are still together 6.5 years later are the ones who were married.

Hmmm.



*I'm not sure if Eric and Matthew are still together ... I lost track of them. If so, it proves gay couples are more durable than straight couples. If not, it proves only marriage can keep couples together - and we gay people want that!.

[keith - SuPeR K!]

I had a great time! I hung as late as I could, but around 2:30am at the carousel I decided I was just too exhausted and needed to get home to my comfy bed. I had a great Disney Day and spending time with you all was an absolute pleasure! So many great memories!!!

EPIC CINNAMON ROLL!!!!!!!

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by keith - SuPeR K!

I had a great time! I hung as late as I could, but around 2:30am at the carousel I decided I was just too exhausted and needed to get home to my comfy bed. I had a great Disney Day and spending time with you all was an absolute pleasure! So many great memories!!!

EPIC CINNAMON ROLL!!!!!!!

BAH! Missed you by mere minutes.

Steve, I'm sure you would have been unimpressed with what little Disney "DID" to make it special. Some food, a few extra characters and music, and not much else. But when we were there, it didn't matter one bit. They "DID" just enough by providing a unique setting and an excuse. The people did the rest. Giddy party atmosphere ensued in droves. Even the completely unconscious chick being dragged around by paramedics had a huge smile on her face.

Whether it should be done again, or should have been done differently, or what frequency...I don't really care. If anything, all this proved is that you can't DO anything to create it. It's not about frequency, it's not about any special events or offerings or entertainment. It's about stumbling on the lucky combination of factors that make people feel like they're experiencing Disneyland in a unique and other-worldly state. So yeah, it's not surprising that the 3rd time around fell flat way back then. The first time is true uniqueness. The 2nd time loses the pure uniqueness of the first time, but that's replaced by the feeling of nostalgia for that first time, the giddiness of recalling your previous giddiness. By the third time, even that is not novel and it's just repetitive. So there's got to be something else to generate that out-of-the-ordinary mindset.

Wait. Where was I going with this? What time is it? Cranberries? A monkey poured coffee in my moots!

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

Wait. Where was I going with this? What time is it? Cranberries? A monkey poured coffee in my moots!

It's porcupine. In the 80's. Behind the train.

Why are there still so many people here!?!?
We can't use the secret AP knowledge. All the APs are here using the same information.
Darth Vader must have been controlling those CMs.
I will never look at those small world dolls the same again. They looked exhausted, beaten down and held against their will.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

BAH! Missed you by mere minutes.

Steve, I'm sure you would have been unimpressed with what little Disney "DID" to make it special. Some food, a few extra characters and music, and not much else. But when we were there, it didn't matter one bit. They "DID" just enough by providing a unique setting and an excuse. The people did the rest. Giddy party atmosphere ensued in droves. Even the completely unconscious chick being dragged around by paramedics had a huge smile on her face.

Whether it should be done again, or should have been done differently, or what frequency...I don't really care. If anything, all this proved is that you can't DO anything to create it. It's not about frequency, it's not about any special events or offerings or entertainment. It's about stumbling on the lucky combination of factors that make people feel like they're experiencing Disneyland in a unique and other-worldly state. So yeah, it's not surprising that the 3rd time around fell flat way back then. The first time is true uniqueness. The 2nd time loses the pure uniqueness of the first time, but that's replaced by the feeling of nostalgia for that first time, the giddiness of recalling your previous giddiness. By the third time, even that is not novel and it's just repetitive. So there's got to be something else to generate that out-of-the-ordinary mindset.

Wait. Where was I going with this? What time is it? Cranberries? A monkey poured coffee in my moots!

You nailed it with this post Greg. The event wasn't about what Disney did to make it special, it was about the people; the people I spent day/night/morning with as well as the others at the park.

Disney fell short on a couple of details, short-staffing being the key issue. One of the things that bugged me the most was the trash around the park, in the queues, etc. (but this is as much guests' responsibility as Disney's). I CAN'T fault Disney for the number of people who showed up though!

Overall, it was great!

[Kevy Baby]

One last detail: the number of people just standing around both in and around the hub after 6:00 a.m. this morning was amazing. I guess they just didn't want it to end

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

I was IMing a friend who works at Google in Irvine when he received the email with the menu for today in their cafeteria. "Bacon wrapped meatloaf" he tells me.

"I want to go to there" I tells him.

2 hours later, I go to there.

He didn't even mention...it's FREE bacon wrapped meatloaf. I hate him a little right now.

And the open bar!

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

They did very little for the very first one, for the 25th birthday. But that's when I noticed a comradery and party atmosphere that I'd never experienced at Disneyland before, and very rarely since. As GD said, there was something about being at Disneyland in an other-worldly and unique state - and everyone was like best friends forever with everyone else. It was so bizarre and amazing.
SNIP

Anyway, I'm sad I missed this one. But knowing friends were having a ball really put a smile on my face last night, even if I couldn't be there myself.

Maybe never doing this before was the key. I don't think any of us have ever done an overnight in Disneyland before. It was a unique experience for us and frankly you just seem like a little black cloud raining on our headons about how much something you didn't even do probably sucked based upon the things you were reading on the internet. I'm glad that you say you are glad we were having fun. It was an absolute blast and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything.

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

I CAN'T fault Disney for the number of people who showed up though!

The one thing Disney usually does right is crowd control. They have plenty of experience with insane crowds and parks at capacity. I can fault them for the short staffing of the busses to the unreasonable walking-distance Toy Story lot and crowd control outside the parks.

Luckily everyone we came across was just as shocked about how packed it was and in the same ecstatic just to be there mood that seemed to negate the entrance experience.