60th Anniversary 24 Hour Kick-off Celebration TR UPDATED 6/2 About This Page:

[Dlandmom2]

Originally Posted by lauriep

Glad you're posting a report of this historic event at DLR! Crazy having the start of the 60th Anniversary celebrations at the same time as the 24-hour event, making it all extra, extra crowded! you're doing really well getting around, though! Smart not trying to make it down Main Street. That is one crowd I would NOT like to tackle on a scooter! So funny having to eat when you weren't hungry in case the lines were longer later, but I'm glad it was at least yummy food. I guess by the time you had waited in the "short" line for over an hour you'd worked up a bit of an appetite. When I saw the reports that morning about all the people waiting to get in at 6am I was afraid you wouldn't even get a parking spot, so the fact that you're in the park is really great!

I wish I had the stamina to have stayed there longer, but boy oh boy those crowds were a lot to take! I really don't know how you would've managed on a scooter. And you're right, by the time I got through that food line, I was actually hungry! I was a bit worried about parking, but when I finally got into the Toy Story lot, it looked to be only about half full at that point.

Originally Posted by belle0517

Great start!

Thanks! More to come shortly.

[Dlandmom2]

I forgot to mention in the last update that when I was walking up Main Street that first time around 11am, there were already people sitting on the curb reserving spots for the parade/fireworks...with throw blankets laid out, etc. I'd say about 1/4 to 1/3 of the curb was taken already. That's 10 more hours of sitting and waiting plus however long they had already been there!

As for the Cinderella bucket, next time I go I'll check and see how much the regular price is. I want to say it's something around $16? $18? Not as bad as $30, but still a lot to pay!

I got my camera pictures uploaded, so let me share some of those right now to catch us up in the story.

Above the entrance gates:


Decorations on Main Street Station, taken from just inside the entrance gates:


Daisy wearing her celebration outfit:


All the camera crews on the Main Street Station patio:


Another crowd picture:


Getting closer to the castle (In all the crowd pictures, do you notice how many people are walking toward me and away from the castle? It's only 11am, are they leaving already?) :


My favorite shot from the day (there were so many people, it took a while to get this shot...I waited for that guy standing by the light pole to get down, but he wasn't budging so I gave up and just took the shot...I need to learn how to crop him out!):


It was hard to get a good picture of the Hatbox Ghost. You can see by these two pictures what I mean about the doombuggies moving by a little too quickly, and the effect being a bit too long...I approached and just about left and still hadn't caught the head in the hatbox:





So that catches us up to where I left off. I'll try to be back soon to post another update. It's already a crazy week, so I'll do my best to continue sooner rather than later!

[OhToodles!]

Holy crowds! Good idea to wait for some things now instead of later.
If that day had been my only day to get the Cinderella popcorn bucket, I might have waited in line. I love Cinderella though.

[lauriep]

It is really strange that so many people are walking back towards the train station that early! What a crowd, though! It also seems to be a mostly adult crowd, which I guess makes sense. You really couldn't tour normally on a day like that and the crowds would be tough with little ones. The photo of the Partners statue and the castle is wonderful. I don't think I'd have noticed the guy by the light pole if you hadn't mentioned him. To get a photo of anything on that day with only one person in it is pretty amazing!

[Dlandmom2]

Originally Posted by OhToodles!

Holy crowds! Good idea to wait for some things now instead of later.
If that day had been my only day to get the Cinderella popcorn bucket, I might have waited in line. I love Cinderella though.

I was slightly torn. I had no place to be, so I could've stood in line for a bucket, but a few things made me not do it. 1. I have way too much Disney stuff in my house as it is, lol! 2. I didn't want to have to carry a popcorn bucket around all day (although I guess it would've fit into my backpack). 3. I stood in line before (a shorter line) for the Zero in his dog house popcorn bucket last Halloween, and after being in line for a while, it sounded like the guest two in front of me got the last one...I was so sad! Thankfully I stayed in line because when I got up there, the CM said he had more. I would've been pretty mad if I had stood in that super long line for the Cinderella bucket just to have it run out when I got to the front of the line!

Originally Posted by lauriep

It is really strange that so many people are walking back towards the train station that early! What a crowd, though! It also seems to be a mostly adult crowd, which I guess makes sense. You really couldn't tour normally on a day like that and the crowds would be tough with little ones. The photo of the Partners statue and the castle is wonderful. I don't think I'd have noticed the guy by the light pole if you hadn't mentioned him. To get a photo of anything on that day with only one person in it is pretty amazing!

I really have no idea why so many people were walking toward the front of the park so early! You're right, I did see mostly adults that day. It would've been a rough day for young kids.

The entire island where the Partners statue is was roped off, so you couldn't get near it. There were people at the rope trying to get pictures. I actually took a selfie with my phone, but it didn't come out well. I waited at the rope until I could get relatively close to center to take that picture. As you can see, it was very overcast that morning, so the lighting wasn't good at all. Still, it's evidence I was there that day!

[chezp]

Wow, that is a huge crowd, but you're right, heading the wrong way! I can't believe people were staking out spots for the parade that early!

[pamcarey]

Great report so far! I'm really interested to read this, especially since I'm heading to Disneyland this year! Your comments that some of the lines are like a normal weekend day are making me a little nervous, and glad that we'll only be visiting one weekend day of our trip.

[Dlandmom2]

Originally Posted by chezp

Wow, that is a huge crowd, but you're right, heading the wrong way! I can't believe people were staking out spots for the parade that early!

Given the lines I was seeing all over, I wasn't surprised to see people already saving spots!

Originally Posted by pamcarey

Great report so far! I'm really interested to read this, especially since I'm heading to Disneyland this year! Your comments that some of the lines are like a normal weekend day are making me a little nervous, and glad that we'll only be visiting one weekend day of our trip.

Don't worry! The Main Street pictures are NOT typical of a weekend day. Those crowds I had never seen at Disneyland before in my life, and I've been there a lot! The parking lot line, the entrance gate line...those were fairly typical of a summer Saturday.

[Dlandmom2]

Well, we left off at the exit of Haunted Mansion. By now, it was probably about 12:45, maybe 1pm. My friend Vicky was bringing her daughter Esty, who had just finished her first year at USC after she dropped her son and his friends off at LAX. Even though Vicky doesn't live in California any more, once a Californian, always a Californian, and driving 200 miles in one day is really just par for the course!

Vicky wasn't expecting to make it to the DLR area until at least 2:30pm, and we had no idea how long it was going to take for her to find parking and get into the parks. That meant I had plenty of time to kill. I really wasn't in the mood to stand in line for anything. The only other ride I had considered was the Matterhorn to see the changes, but the Matterhorn doesn't have FP, and my back wouldn't survive standing in another line for an hour, probably more!

As a bit of background, something happened to my back about 2 weeks ago, and I was just starting to really feel like I could move without pain the day before the celebration...so of course what do I do? Plan to spend all day on my feet at Disneyland!

I didn't want to fight the crowds to get to the other side of the park, so I decided to stay in the Critter Country area and walked toward the Winnie the Pooh ride. As I passed the Hungry Bear Restaurant, I decided I'd better go use the restroom that's on the bottom level...before I really needed it! The line was again about 10 deep, so no crisis there!

As I exited the Hungry Bear, I passed by a churro cart...with only 3 people in line!!! I had just eaten and was stuffed, but OMG there were only 3 people in line for churros! I had to go get one...while the line was short, lol! The funny thing is, the guy in front of me AND the guy behind me both said the same thing: I can't believe there's such a short line! So, churro in hand, I continued walking toward Pooh. The line at Pooh stretched all the way to the covered bridge entrance. Pooh is usually a short line if not a walk-on. This line looked to be at least 30 minutes, if not more, with all the switchbacks open. Ok, so I won't go on Pooh now. I continued walking and when I got near the exit to the Pooh ride, I found an open spot on a bench and immediately took it! A seat!

I ate my churro while I people-watched. The Splash Mountain line was pretty long. I've seen it extend all the way back out to where the big drop is, but today I don't remember it extending that far.

Thank goodness for my phone because I amused myself by texting and emailing friends. The only problem with that idea is that cell coverage isn't so great, so I think my phone was using up a lot of battery life trying to find a signal. It was while I was sitting on this bench that I noticed my battery life down a lot lower than I was expecting. It was also then that I realized I forgot to pack a phone charger that I had borrowed from my daughter. Oh well, guess I won't be texting and emailing any more unless I really had to!

I had brought my tablet with me, so I started to play some games. I remember chuckling because who goes to Disneyland to sit on a bench and play games on a tablet? LOL!

The games got old quickly, so I put everything away and started to people watch some more. I noticed a lady sitting across from me who was lying down on a bench asleep. A child was asleep in a stroller right next to her, and a man was sitting on a rock (Disney rock) next to them. This was just one of many examples I saw throughout the day of people dozing. It was the man I was most fascinated by. He wore sunglasses and just sat there with his head turning this way then that, presumably people watching. The amazing thing to me is I watched this for at least an hour, and not once did I see him look at his phone, munch on a snack, or even get up. It takes an amazing amount of patience to sit there with no diversion other than people watching. I was impressed!

So what else happened while I sat there? In no particular order:

1. The Pooh ride broke down at some point and didn't re-start until some Disney engineers came by to check everything out. Half the queue emptied, and I'd say after about 15-20 minutes, the ride started up again. I was tempted to jump into line once I saw the ride start up again, but I didn't want to give up my seat.

2. At one point, the people sharing my bench got up to leave. A man stepped up a moment later and asked if anyone was sitting there, and I told him to please have a seat. We both chuckled about needing to be off our feet for a bit. I told him I was staying put until my friend arrived. There were about 6-7 benches in that area. It was almost comical whenever someone gave up their bench. Someone else would swoop in immediately and sit down...and I mean SWOOP as in practically run to the seat!

3. Just outside the entrance to Splash there was an ice cream cart. I looked over and saw...there was no line! Zip! Zero! Nada! Should I go get some ice cream? I remember having a conversation with myself in my head...maybe I could offer to buy ice cream for the man sitting next to me if he'll save my seat! Should I do it? Ultimately, I decided against it...I was already beyond stuffed...this whole avoiding lines thing was becoming comical!

4. I amused myself taking pictures of what I could see from my seat.






Here's a good one of the Pooh line, the train crossing, and the crowds under the bridge on the right.


Sailing Ship Columbia sailing by:


The soothing sound of trickling water behind me:


And that's how I spent the next two hours of my day at Disney!

[cubfancolleen]

I assume you have an AP, Jeanne?! Otherwise I might wonder about spending a big chunk of the day sitting on a bench! I can people watch a long time - especially with some of the characters that you see these days (and I don't mean Mickey & Donald! ).

[lauriep]

You could end up making yourself sick just eating because you see a shorter line! So amazing that in the photos you took while sitting there, you see no crowds. You could be the only one there. The parks are designed so beautifully that when you just look at the themed areas, you see nothing else.

[Dlandmom2]

Originally Posted by cubfancolleen

I assume you have an AP, Jeanne?! Otherwise I might wonder about spending a big chunk of the day sitting on a bench! I can people watch a long time - especially with some of the characters that you see these days (and I don't mean Mickey & Donald! ).

Oh yes, I most definitely have an AP! DLR is my main entertainment expenditure, so it is very well worth it for me!

I saw some of those characters you mention! I actually had two very cute little characters sitting on the bench next to me. They must've been sisters, around 4 or 5 years old. Each one was eating a Tigger Tail (marshmallows covered with orange and black sugar). As they were eating, their parents were cracking up at the orange and black mess on their faces, but they were having such a wonderful time!

Originally Posted by lauriep

You could end up making yourself sick just eating because you see a shorter line! So amazing that in the photos you took while sitting there, you see no crowds. You could be the only one there. The parks are designed so beautifully that when you just look at the themed areas, you see nothing else.

As it turned out, I didn't get into another food line for the rest of the day!

I kind of disguised the photos so I wouldn't see the people. It was busy, but no more than a really busy summer day. Then again, I was sitting at the end of Critter Country...there's nowhere to go beyond that, so I think a lot of people might have gone to Splash and then walked out of Critter Country without passing by me. Yes, Disney does a great job of designing, which is why I wanted to capture the babbling brook behind me and the beautiful trees all around. For a busy day in the parks, I was feeling very zen at that moment!

[chezp]

I must admit I had a different reaction to your photos - I was like "I've never seen that many people in line for Winnie the Pooh ever at Disneyland!" I can fully understand you staying put on that bench, I'd have been the same as well, especially with my chronic fatigue.

[Dlandmom2]

Originally Posted by chezp

I must admit I had a different reaction to your photos - I was like "I've never seen that many people in line for Winnie the Pooh ever at Disneyland!" I can fully understand you staying put on that bench, I'd have been the same as well, especially with my chronic fatigue.

I've seen Pooh that busy before...not common, but it does happen. Lately I've seen Pirates extend that far, too.

I don't think you would've had much fun that day. It wasn't easy finding a place to sit down, and you'll find out later in this TR that that was a common problem throughout the day.

[MayraLR]

Great start! I can't believe the huge crowd on Main St.